Days Of Destruction
by XavierForest
Summary: November 18, 2020 - that was the date it all began. Two years later, Allen Walker is the protector of a small group of survivors. His secrets are important enough to change everything, only he refuses to admit it. And then there's Yu Kanda, one of humanity's survivors. What kind of fate awaits them in this Hell on Earth? Zombie Apocalypse AU Yullen
1. Good Morning, Sweet Hell

**Good Morning, Sweet Hell**

Allen Walker

So maybe it would be a bit cliché of me to say this, but it really all began on a completely normal day. I was sitting inside, a thick blanket wrapped tightly around my shivering body. Okay, so I had the flu; still pretty normal; everyone gets the flu. That day, I didn't leave the house. I didn't answer the door. I just stayed in bed, an ice pack melting on my burning forehead.

Honestly, I could have gone to school, only, the thought of having to put up with that bastard calling me 'Moyashi' at every available opportunity convinced me to stay home. I already had one hell of a headache; there was no reason for me to let him make it any worse.

After throwing back two Nurofen tablets, I slipped on my headphones, switching the volume to its maximum setting, the music blaring out any sounds I may have been able to hear beforehand.

Checking my phone to see if I had any missed calls, as unlikely as it was, I notice the date: November 18. Upon realising that I would be turning fourteen in nearly a month, an unfamiliar warmth spread through my chest, and I knew that if Kanda could see me now, he'd accuse me of 'wearing that stupid-ass grin again', as he so kindly puts it.

The entire first year I'd known them, my friends, I'd refused to tell them my birthday, that day only serving to remind me of the horrors I'd been through, and it always upset me to see everyone celebrating, since the twenty-fifth of December was, unfortunately, Christmas. Even when they'd tried to invite me out for the annual festivities, I'd lied to them, saying something about visiting a family I didn't really have. They'd finally managed to get the date from me through, meaning that this would be my first real birthday in years.

Truth be told, while I once would have been furious, or maybe even horrified, now I was just exited. The only person who'd ever cared enough to celebrate my birthday had been Mana, and that had only been once. I secretly prayed to whatever godly entity that may be out there that nothing bad happened to my new friends. Well, they were more like my first friends…

Lenalee, with her caring, big-sisterly personality, the second youngest, eyes a beautiful violet and flowing olive hair tied up in two side pigtails. Lavi, the red-headed trouble-maker, his right eye obscured beneath a brown leather eye-patch, his left a startling shade of jade. And then Kanda, he who hated being called by his first name, 'Yu', with waist-length, navy-blue hair always held up with a thick red tie, and always glaring at the world with his cold cerulean eyes.

If one saw them together, they wouldn't understand how it was that people with such conflicting personalities could get along, but the little band of misfits were practically perfect for each other. It was probably their difference that brought them together; one had what another would lack; they completed each other.

When they'd welcomed me in to their tight-knit group, I'd felt awkward at first, though, eventually, those three became my world. Just being around them was enough to chase it all away. When I was with them, I would let all of my worries disappear. I could pretend that everything I'd been through was just another one of my crazy dreams. I guess that if anything had to have been the dream, it would be the life I was living with them. I now wish that it was a dream; I wish I'd never have had to wake up. If only I could have rewound time, if I could have stayed with them for just a few moments longer… 'If' and 'I wish'… It seemed that my selfish existence always revolved around those words.

I know that the way I depend on those three isn't healthy, but I honestly couldn't care less.

The change in song startled me out of my musings on whether or not Kanda would have finally murdered Lavi today; probably not…. Hopefully not… With the way Lavi acts, it wouldn't be much of a surprise….

Shaking my head, I let out a sigh of content as my neck cracks; the painful crick in my neck now gone. Relaxing my body, I let my head loll to the side, shapes and colours moving behind closed eyelids. Even knowing what was going to come next, I stayed, long past trying to hide from my nightmares. No; memories.

o

O

" _Good morning, Fourteenth!"_

 _A smiling face, surrounded by the brilliant florescent glow of artificial lighting._

" _Now, now; you know we can't have you doing that."_

 _Arms secured to sides by thick leather straps that chafe the skin._

" _Fourteenth."_

 _Eyes of the purest honey, gazing into my own dull orbs._

" _Someone get the sedatives."_

 _The prick of a needle entering my bare shoulder._

" _What do you think; isn't this shade of red better?"_

 _Skilled hands making full use of that glinting scalpel, unzipping flesh with practiced ease._

" _Fourteenth."_

 _Small hands reach out towards me, seeking the comfort of another living being._

" _Is he… crying?"_

 _Salty tears mingle with the taste of blood, diluting that retched flavour I always seemed to reacquaint myself with._

" _Fourteenth."_

 _Shielding her with my own ruined body, just barely able to stand._

" _How about we let you stay awake this time?"_

 _A syringe, contents murky black in colour, held aloft with pride._

" _It worked!"_

 _Swept up into his embrace, a kiss planted on my forehead._

" _What's going on?!"_

 _Glass shattering, a hand tightening around my wrist._

" _Fo…tee…th."_

 _A broken body lying limp in my arms._

" _Allen Walker…."_

 _O_

 _o_

Waking with a start, I very nearly jumped out of bed, hand clamped over my own mouth to stifle the screams that tried to make their way out. Sitting upright and breathing heavily, a cold sweat sticking to my body, I rest my head on top of my knees. Fragmented memories still continued to swirl their way around my head, whispers of conversations lingering in my ear.

Taking note of the dim rays of light streaming through the window, I realise that I must have slept for nearly twelve hours. A quick glance at my phone tells me that that it's only six thirty. Groaning, I rise from the warmth that my bed offered into the cool morning air of my room.

Stumbling into the kitchen, I grab out my leftover attempt at chicken casserole from the fridge, sticking it into the microwave, heating it up to have as breakfast before I leave. It leaves a bland taste in my mouth, and I make a mental note to never try making it again unless someone who actually knows how to cook is here with me. Considering I never have anyone over, that would mean I'm never eating chicken casserole again. Unless, of course, my social worker made it…

That thought halts the fork's path to my mouth. I'd been living with a social worker ever since I'd began Junior High; so where was she now? Sure, sometimes she'd stay out late, but by the time I'd awoken the next morning, she'd always be here…

Shrugging it off as just another one of those adult things, I stuff today's completed homework into my backpack, first checking that it was the paper with 'Thursday' printed across the top, instead of 'Friday'. I remember once making the mistake of handing in the wrong day's homework…not fun…

Excitement bubbled deep down in my chest as I realise I'll be seeing my friend after being away from them for two days. Well, its two days if you include the fact that I went home early on Tuesday… Now that I think about it; earlier that day was the last time I saw my social worker, too.

Unfolding today's outfit from off of the couch, where it has been sitting, much to the displeasure of my social worker, for the past four days, I slip on the crisp white dress shirt, revelling in its temporary floral scent. Next up are the black cargo pants, the colour said to stand out against my pale complexion and otherwise colourless attire. The same could be said about the red ribbon tied in a lazy bow around my neck. Peeking in the mirror, I gave my reflection a slight smile when I realised that the red distracted one's attention from my eyes. My ghastly, haunting, grey eyes. Lenalee always insisted that they were silver, yet no matter how many times I checked, all I saw was grey.

By now, my phone beeps to inform me that the time is seven fifty-five, meaning I'd better start walking soon, seeing as it's a twenty minute walk from here to my school, and my club activities require me to arrive earlier than the other students.

I sling my backpack over my shoulder and hesitantly push open the door, sighing as the morning's warmth caresses my face. That feeling has always been one of my favourites. It was one of those small things that made life a little more bearable.

Stepping out, I'm met with the unnatural silence of the outside world. There's not a person in sight. Trash lay tossed aside in the streets. If I had to describe it; the place looked like a ghost town.

Confused, I unconsciously tilt my head to the side; did everyone just drop everything and disappear or something?

With that thought in mind, I sweep my gaze over my surroundings, still met with nothing more than an empty street.

Taking a deep breath, my next actions going against all I'd been taught, I cup both hands around either side of my mouth, and, me being as naive as I am, scream out as loud as I can; the sound reverberating and echoing its way down the street. "HELLO~?!

So I admit that this probably wasn't my best idea, but this silence is freaking me out.

Biting down on my lip at the continuation of silence I receive as my response, I sigh once again, before walking out onto the road, even though the 'no-walking-on-the-road' rule had been drilled into my mind by teachers and government officials alike.

Finally, the thud of footsteps scraping against pavement brings a relieved smile to my face. "Hello?"

A figure limps in to view, dragging their back leg as though they need crutches, but just couldn't be bothered to get them.

With a dead eye gazing back into my own, no emotion present on this person's face, half hidden by a hoodie, every bone in my body screamed at me to run. "Are you alright? What happened here?"

I walk over to the person, eventually taking in the red smudges on their sleave. "Oh god; is that blood?!"

That's when the person's full appearance becomes clear to me, and bile rises up in my throat at the sight. The entire right side of his…IT'S face was burnt off, revealing meat and muscle that barely clung to bone.

Stretching out a dirty arm, flesh hanging off on clumps, the thing took another step towards me.

As the other advances, I slowly move away. "S-stay back!"

When this thing makes no effort to communicate with me, I make a mad dash for the house, scrambling for the door when I trip over my own feet in my haste.

Diving in, I try to slam the door shut, but the thing pushes against it from the other side, and I'm no match for its brute strength.

The door is flung open, causing to stumble forward on to my hands and knees.

Adrenaline coursing through my veins, everything seems to be moving in slow motion. Three. There are three of them now. Each no longer identifiable in gender or age. Each just as grotesque as the first. Each missing something.

Sunken eyes barely even seeing me, they must be operating on some other sort of function to tell where they're going. Smell? Sound? If so, that would explain why they'd appeared a little after I'd started yelling down the street.

Instead of speaking, all I can hear from them is a kind of wheezing sound, almost like they were trying to moan and sigh at the same time.

Multiple pairs of dirty hands grasp my clothes, their hold on my shirt sleeve jerking me to a stop in my attempt to escape. Pulling me back, their hands clamp down on my left arm, followed up by teeth that bit into the deformed skin, tearing in to me like they couldn't get enough.

My mind barely registers the whimper that escapes from between my parted lips. I couldn't remember the last time I'd screamed; years of training and punishment had taught me that screaming had only ever managed to make things worse.

Next time, I decided, I would immediately follow my instincts if they told me to run. Though, from the looks of it, I wouldn't ever be getting that second chance any time soon. Or ever…

As blood pooled around my writhing form, more pain than I'd ever felt made its way through my body, and believe me; I've felt a lot of pain in my short lifetime. A sharp metallic taste invaded my senses, before long overwhelming me with the scent strong enough to make be gag. Oh how I loathed that smell. Then everything fades to black, starting off as shadows at the edges of my vision, ending as a bottomless pit of nothingness, a sea of blissful darkness that threatens to swallow me whole, to take away all of the pain. And that was the end to my perfectly ordinary days.

IXIXI

 _I really hope I'm not the only one who laughed at the fact that Allen slept through the beginning of the apocalypse._


	2. What Doesn't Stay Dead

**What Doesn't Stay Dead**

Yu Kanda

Mugen impaled the wooden panelling above Daisya's head, and I curse his sharpened reflexes for allowing him dodge the fatal blow. Oh how I longed to silence the clown with a quick slice through abdomen, though if I aimed for his throat, he wouldn't be able to talk anymore… How tempting…

Growling out a 'fuck off' as continues on with his insistent babbling, I stomp up to my room.

With practiced movements, I complete my daily rituals of throwing my hair up into a high ponytail, slipping a long black coat over the school's compulsory uniform, and strapping Mugen to my belt, where it is completely hidden by the coat.

A light grin settles into my features at the realisation that the old man is out for the entire week. I don't remember the specifics; just something about him, the baka Usagi's grandfather and Lenalee's sister-complex of a brother left for a teacher's convention somewhere. But who cares about the small details? Without those annoyances, life would temporarily become a little easier. Though, with Daisya, the Usagi and the Moyashi here, everything's still a pain.

Making my way back downstairs, I disregard the very idea of breakfast; it being just another chance for me to be harassed by that bothersome git who calls himself my older brother.

A thud and curse from elsewhere in the house informs me that I needn't sneak out of the house, seeing as no one will be waiting to meet me at the door.

The walk to school is blissfully quiet, what normally would have been a morning of people with surround-sound speakers turning the volume up to its maximum setting and traffic backed up all the way down the street became a morning with people with their headphones in and a couple cars navigating their way through the streets. It was a pity when the school building came into view, that everything couldn't continue on to be that peaceful silence that one could so rarely hear in this day and age.

My eyes scan over the area past the school gate, landing on Lenalee and the Usagi who seemed too deep in their conversation to notice me. Taking the opportunity in stride, I walk right past them, content with how the day had gone from being annoyed by Daisya to this.

AP English is the first class I have on Wednesdays, my seat allowing me the perfect view of the front gate, meaning I'm there to watch as two heads of green and red finally walk through, still chatting away to each other like they weren't about to be late to their class. Before I turn away, I notice the overall lacking of a certain white-haired midget, and the thought of him getting lost on his way to school AGAIN is enough to make me chuckle, much to fear of all those around me, because they all knew that the only time I ever expressed any form of happiness, if you could call it that, was at the misfortune of another.

Of course, my mood was dashed the moment Reever walked through the door, holding up blank sheets of paper and telling us to write a four-page essay on any topic of our choosing. Perfect; I'll write mine on how I plan on mutilating every student and teacher within a one mile radius.

To me, what these people call 'education' is what I call torture. Then again, so does pretty much every teenager out there.

IXIXI

Seating myself at my usual table, I cast a discreet glance around the cafeteria, frowning when I can't find the oh-so-familiar head of white hair that practically lives here during lunch breaks. There's no way he'd get lost on his way to food; it was physically impossible. Incomprehensible. It went against the very laws of–

"Looking for our beloved Moyashi?"

I swipe my blade through the air, where a certain red-head just barely managed to avoid being decapitated.

Grinning, Lavi seats himself opposite me, setting his own tray of food on the table. "He's not here."

Raising an eyebrow, which should meant 'I don't give a fuck', but must have misinterpreted as 'Oh please continue', has the baka Usagi going on and on about how the brat went home sick yesterday and wouldn't be making it today. For the next five minutes, I contemplate the pros and cos of skewering Lavi with my chopsticks.

Placing her own lunch silently on the table beside the Usagi, Lenalee only rolls her eyes at the latter's antics, too used to him to even bother try quietening him down.

As of now, Lavi and I are seniors; Lenalee's a freshman, while the brat is only in eighth grade.

It would have been about two years ago now, some genius decided to merge the middle school and high school together, meaning I had to deal with all those short idiots, as well as this stupid child-in-a-teenager's-body opposite of me.

Even though we'd known the brat since the merge, he was still frustrating as hell, annoying the crap out of me every time we saw each other, but I would be lying if I said he didn't fit in with our little band of misfits. Though if anyone were to even suggest I'd thought such a thing, they wouldn't live to see tomorrow.

There was no way that anyone would ever think such a thing, not with the way I'd nearly killed the kid the first time we'd met; he's the one who'd sat in MY spot; he had it coming.

He was an enigma, that kid; a puzzle that begged to never be solved. When he could, we'd all talk and walk and hang and whatever else it is that teenagers do. He knew nearly everything there was to know about us, but rarely did he talk about himself, even if asked. Sometimes the kid would disappear for a day or two, and when he came back, he'd just say "it's personal". The Principal, Lenalee's older brother, knew something. We once tried to ask him what was going on, but the way he'd looked at us, like we were asking the impossible of him; we didn't know what to think anymore.

Though, enough prying and luck had eventually yielded results. We'd found out that the Moyashi didn't have any parents or blood relatives, apparently he lives with a social worker who was constantly in and out, having enough trust in the boy to let him be by himself for a day or so.

That goodie-two-shoes stuck to the rules, too. Not once would he stay out past curfew or skip a class, something I would always tease him about. Every single time, he'd just look down at his feet and blush, then I'd smirk and we'd both argue, the confrontations more often than not becoming physical.

I suppose, to me, the only thing really acceptable about him would be the fact that he's not a cry baby. I remember how I'd once lost my temper with him about a month after we'd met, swinging my fist towards his face, where the blow had landed and he'd stumbled backwards, slipping on the first step of the stairs and continuing to fall down, a sickening 'thud' following every step he dropped. The Usagi and Lenalee had raced down to check on him, as had the rest of those who'd witnessed what had happened, but I'd stayed back at the top of the stairs, pissed and somewhat afraid because I thought that he would start bawling his eyes out and have to be taken to hospital. Except he didn't cry; he just sat there, staring all wide-eyed at his right arm which CLEARLY shouldn't have been twisted at that angle, a large bruise forming on his cheek where I'd punched him. And then he'd looked back up at me with his shining silver eyes, when he gave me a wry smile. That, of course, had just freaked everyone out even more, convincing them that he had a concussion or something.

Afterwards, the school would have expelled me, if not for the boy with his arm in a sling who'd managed to convince the board that I'd in fact tripped and run into him, where he'd then been unable to steady himself and fallen down the stairs. Apparently he'd gone around to all of the people who'd seen the event and told them that it was all a mistake, that I'd never really punched him. The ones who didn't buy it were met with watery mercury eyes and a quivering baby-faced junior until they agreed that what they'd seen wasn't actually what they'd thought they'd seen. I'd confronted him later on to ask him what it was he wanted from me, because there was no way he'd do something like that out of the goodness of his deceitful heart, but he'd then bowed from the waist, apologising for stealing Mugen and making me angry with him in the first place. I hadn't know whether or not he was being serious with me, what with how it was just days prior he'd tricked a small portion of the student body into agreeing with something that hadn't happened.

Going back to the topic of arms; his left one wasn't exactly normal.

Lenalee, the Moyashi and I had all been had been forced into sleeping over at the Usagi's a couple months ago when the little geezer had gone on up for a shower. Thinking that he'd been up there for far too long, the three of us had gone in to check on him, only to find him clothed in a lone pair of cotton pants, struggling to hide his left arm, it being a mass of thick veins protruding from skin the colour of dried blood. The shame on his face when we'd seen it had shocked us out of our fear of the arm, especially when he'd tried to run off. It had taken over an hour to convince the brat that we didn't give a damn about his stupid deformity.

Truthfully, what had been just as startling as the arm was the smattering of scars that decorated his torso. Lenalee had asked him about them, but he'd simply laughed it off as clumsiness, though from what I could see in his eyes, it was obvious to me that he'd lied.

My fingers tighten on the chopsticks as they continued on their path to my mouth, the action so natural to me that I could do it even when as lost in thought as I am now.

Before I can take the first bite, a high-pitched scream pierces through the room's light conversations.

Pointedly ignoring the crowds of people making their way towards the windows to check out what all of the commotion was about, I continue on with my meal, refusing to let some woman who'd probably glimpsed a rodent distract me from my soba.

Those were my thoughts, that is, until more screams began to fill the cafeteria. Turning my aggravated gaze towards those backing away from the room's main door, I shove the last remaining buckwheat noodle into my mouth and stand, not even bothering to finish off my green tea, just wanting to hurry up and leave this room where the students couldn't find it in themselves to shut up for more than a couple seconds at a time.

"Yu-chan?" Came the curious voice of one Lavi Bookman.

Fixing him with my best glare, I rest my hand on Mugen, the threat quite clear. "Don't call me that."

Sighing, the red-head made to stand when he suddenly frowned, gaze on the cafeteria entrance. "I think someone had a little too much to drink." He murmured almost silently to himself.

By the time I turn back around, a student had stumbled through the door; many of the people who'd seen whatever it was that had been going on outside now slowly moving away from the teen, whose face had been wiped clean of emotion.

Another student then stood, moving over to the seemingly tipsy young man, placing a steadying hand on his arm as he stared blankly into her eyes. "Are you okay?"

Leaning in closer to the girl, he used his teeth to latch on to her neck, tearing out a hunk of flesh, which promptly fell to the ground as he opened his mouth once again to ready himself for another bite.

It was quiet; no one moved a muscle, we all just watched.

And then all hell broke loose.

The cafeteria became an epicentre of screaming and flailing bodies as they all tried to get away from the horror that appeared before them, all ignoring the convulsing girl who fell to the floor, blood soaking through her clothes, before her body finally relaxed and ceased its unnatural twitching.

Well, she was ignored until her crimson-coloured corpse struggled to its feet, still missing a major portion of its neck, eyes too now blank.

Acting on my instincts, which were to yank up a horrified Lenalee and shocked Lavi, dragging the duo through the kitchen with me, a room that was off limits to students such as ourselves. Though I really doubted that with everyone running about as they were, anyone would care if we used this as our exit.

The back door leads outside, where a singular figure stood, staring down at the ground.

"Mr. Suman!" Lenalee cried, running towards the teacher in relief, only to be pulled back by Lavi's grip on her wrist.

Confused, the girl tugged her arm away from the older boy, cradling it close to her chest. "Lavi, it's Mr. Suman; he can tell us what's going on!"

Shaking his head, the Usagi's one emerald eye filled with worry. "I don't think…" He trailed off.

They stood there, watching as the teacher noticed them, turning towards them with a blank face, walking with a limp in his step. Nearly three metres from our group, a ruined hand reached out towards Lavi. Without a second thought, I used Mugen to slice through the thing's flesh, its arm falling to the pavement almost soundlessly.

"Kanda?!" The girl shrieked, eyes on the dismembered arm.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lavi grow even more disturbed at how the teacher continued to move forward, not at all bothered by its apparent loss of a limb. The rabbit forcefully, yet gently pulled the girl away from what once was their Physical Education teacher. "That's not Suman."

Gritting my teeth, I resolve myself to doing the one thing I'm able to do with the situation as is. Steadying Mugen, I take one final glance at the thing before me, and then angle my blade upwards, feeling the short resistance of flesh, bone and muscle as I sever its head.

The same blank look as when it was moving stared up at me from the detached head, only this time, I know that it won't be getting back up anytime soon.

IXIXI

Here we sat; the three of us stuck in the school's only sport's shed, door locked and windows barred; it was the perfect temporary safe house.

It was obvious that Lenalee wasn't coping well, what with her pupils dilated with adrenaline and fear, rocking back and forth on the cement floor, eyes glazed over, muttering the same thing over and over. "It's just a dream. It's just a dream. It's just a dream."

Exasperated, I nudge the girl with my foot in a poor attempt to snap her out of her troubled state. "Oi, shut up; if you're too loud, someone's going to hear."

"Don't touch me!" Lenalee hissed, smacking my foot away with contempt.

Not even bothering to give her a verbal response, I raise a brow, prompting her to speak out what she'd left unsaid.

Wrapping her arms around her shaking body, violet eyes widened even further. "Y-you killed a teacher!"

"That thing wasn't Suman." Lavi murmured, reaffirming his earlier statement.

"But he didn't even hesitate! A-and he's dead now…you killed someone…" She trailed off, eyes switching back to that fairly dazed state.

"Lena…" The red-head began, but cut himself off upon realising that simply talking would do the girl no good.

Resigning myself to what I'm about to do, I sigh in indignation. The sound of flesh striking flesh echoes throughout the room as I backhand her across the face, my own features not displaying the discomfort I feel at resorting to such a thing to get the Chinese girl to properly listen to what it is we had to say. "Lenalee Lee, are you finished now?"

She reaches up and cradles her cheek, looking at me almost as if she couldn't believe that I'd actually slapped her. Her body sagging where she sat, the only acknowledgement she gave to prove that she'd in fact heard what I'd said.

"Good." I mutter, face still clear of any and all emotion.

I even manage to keep my keep my expression impassive when both Lenalee and Lavi turned to stare up at me as if I knew everything, despite being vaguely irked by the unexpected notion. They were waiting for what it is I'd say that we'd do next, even though I honestly didn't have the faintest idea about what was going on around us.

"Sleep for now; you never know when you'll be able to get some again." I advise, at a loss for what else could be done at this very moment.

I know what I'd just ordered them to do was unreasonable, what with the screaming that could still be heard outside, but there really wasn't anything else we could do.

The small hand clasping my coat distracted me from my thoughts, leading me to notice the way Lenalee shook, and how she leaned closer to snuggle into my side. It took every ounce of self-control I had to not push the girl away, knowing that she probably needed someone close, or some kind or human contact or some shit. Dammit! 'Snuggle' shouldn't even be a word in my vocabulary!

Of course, my composure very nearly broke the moment that Lavi tried to follow Lenalee's actions of nestling into my other side. The only reason I restrained myself was seeing how his one emerald eye had turned to a dull shade of green and darted around the room at every sound heard from outside.

Gritting my teeth, hands clenched into fists, I glare a hole through the shed's door. "This is a one-time thing; understood?"

I feel rather than see their nods as they curl up closer against my body, two scared children seeking the comfort of another human being.

After a while, placing a hand on their backs and rubbing tentative circles against the skin, shielded only by thin layers of fabric, seems to sooth their frayed nerves to an extent.

IXIXI

Unfortunately, sleep had been virtually impossible; the noisy bastards outside rarely stopping with their constant bloodcurdling screaming and whatnot had only been one reason of many. Another was the growling of two separate stomachs that just wouldn't shut up, much to the embarrassment one, while the other continuously complained about how hungry he was.

With a slight shake of my head, I clear my mind of those thoughts, instead moving on to create a mental checklist of all those who our group would need to meet up with somehow.

Daisya? Gone camping. Marie? With Teidoll. The Moyashi? …Oh for the love of…

As if reading my thoughts, Lenalee suddenly glares up at me from the resting spot she made of my chest, determination settling in to her features. "We're going to get Allen." She stated, tone leaving no room for discussion.

I may have felt a twinge of concern at the thought of leaving the boy alone in this mess, that being the reason all I gave as a response was a short 'Che' and mutterings of approval.

A light tapping drew our attention to the only other sixteen-year-old in the room, whom, from the looks of it, wanted just that. "First things first," Lavi began cryptically, "know thy enemy."

I roll my eyes at his idiocy, waiting for him to continue. Which, or course, he doesn't bother to do.

"Well? What the fuck are they?" I ask irritably, just about ready to make myself some rabbit stew.

"Why, Yu; isn't it obvious? They're Zombies." The red-head announced seriously.

Throwing my hands up in the air in indignation, I mentally berate myself for actually believing that he'd have something useful to say. "Great; now I feel like I'm trapped in one of those stupid movies you two forced me to watch." I mutter under my breath, the remark not going unnoticed by the duo.

"If I recall; you were the one who liked those things the best." Lavi retorted spitefully, most likely annoyed with me for shooting his idea down so quickly when it was probably the only viable solution left.

Lenalee gave us an awkward laugh, glancing between the two of us with uncertainty. "You guys are still arguing even after all this?"

Lavi moves over to the door, a shit-eating grin now lighting up his face. "It's how Yu-chan shows his love~"

"Don't call me 'Yu-chan' dammit!" Is my natural reaction to his stupid nickname.

Honestly though; I could never understand how that idiot could go from fuming to cheerful in a matter of second. Sometimes I think that he may have schizophrenia or MPD. Then again; he could just be crazy…

"Are we going?" The usagi asks, grin still adorning his face.

Definitely crazy.

Pushing past the red-head, I unlock the door, nudging it open with my foot, Mugen unsheathed in case of some sort of attack.

The first thing I notice is the silence. No screaming. No smashing glass or heavy footfalls. Just the wind and its silent melody; its silent, eerie melody.

The second thing I notice is that there is not a single person in sight. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

They're all probably dead.

"We're moving out." I order.

The eye-patched teenager thrust a fist skywards. "Now you're getting into it!"

After shooting the idiot a quick glare, I turn my gaze eastwards, noting how faint tendrils of light reach across the sky, illuminating the endless expanse of deep blue, as well as informing me of the oncoming of dawn.

Lavi pouted at my casual indifference to his praise. "I'm only acting like this so I don't have a mental breakdown."

"This is how you always act." I counter with disdain.

I tune out whatever it is the Usagi said next, too focussed on the thing trying to walk through a wall. It wasn't succeeding.

"I think you two might be related." I muse in one of my rare moments of humour.

This sends him into a state of panic. "WHAT?! It's not Gramps, is it?!"

Those words leave me wanting to face-palm myself. "I meant that it's stupid, moron!"

"I'm not stupid! And it's a _zombie_ ; they don't have brains." Lavi went on, stressing the 'zombie' part.

"Fine; it's a zombie," I agree with resentment, "now shut up!"

"Uh, Kanda, I don't mean to be rude anything, but you're the one attracting the zombies..." Lenalee informed us, pointing at four bloodied zombies stumbling over in our general direction.

Within but a few seconds, I take out my anger on the walking corpses, mutilating them beyond recognition; not that there was anyone left to recognise them anyway.

Silently appraising my own work, I elbow the Usagi as half a brain falls out of a split skull. "What was that about them not having brains?"

"Are you done yet?" Came the timid question from behind, and I turn to find Lenalee with both eyes squeezed shut.

"Che."

And that's how it all went, avoiding zombies and people alike, until we finally made it to the brat's street around midday, Lenalee bolting down the road upon my confirmation of there not being a single zombie in sight.

She threw open the door, desperate to find him, but all that greeted her was a puddle of blood specked through with a grey powder, multiple sets of red foot-prints leading haphazardly away, as if their owners couldn't walk straight. Like a zombie.

That's when it really hits home. This is real. This is our reality.

Crouching down, I let my hand hover nearly a centimetre above the mess. "It's still warm." I murmur, knowing full-well that the knowledge would do no good to anyone.

"A-Allen…" The girl dropped to the ground, tears rolled unnoticed down her cheeks, dripping off her chin into the crimson.

I take hold of the phone lying of the floor, whipping away at the strange ash coating the undamaged screen, before slipping the device into my coat pocket.

Far off in the distance, something shatters; the sound ringing out quite clearly into what I would once would have called a peaceful silence.

Face impassive, I grip Lavi by the collar, hoisting him up from where he sat hunched over on the floor in grief. "We're leaving."

Ignoring the twin incredulous expressions I'm shot, I give the room a once over, gaze lingering a second longer than it should have on the red staining the once cream carpet, and stride out of the house, refusing to even glance back at the house which reeked of death, a scent now shared with the rest of this godforsaken world.

IXIXI

 _I am cruel and wholeheartedly admit to it._

 _Just so you know, the apocalypse technically began on Tuesday afternoon, because the next day, everything was a lot quieter; I mean, it'd take the zombies a while to take over the entire area. They're SLOW_

 _This is probably going to be one of the longest chapters I ever write…_

 _But right now, I'm just enjoying everyone's ignorance._ ㈴0


	3. Zombie Bite Death?

**Zombie Bite ≠ Death?**

Allen Walker

"Beautiful."

That was one of the few words able to correctly describe the scene of what lay before me.

Flowers of every colour clung to the walls, climbing along vines and filling the room with an aromatic fragrance. In large pots grew a variety of different vegetables and fruits, while the ground had somehow been covered over in patches of the greenest of grass', despite being made of pure concreate.

A single sapphire eye stared up at me, barely concealed happiness showing through at my reaction.

Slipping my arms around the girl's waist, I held her close to my chest as I picked her up, twirling her around till she hit me over the shoulder. "Allen!"

I merely grinned over at her blushing face, glad that she seemed to be having fun, even when glowering with embarrassment.

She punched me in the arm and turned back to her little garden with a huff, probably hell-bent on ignoring me now.

Taking a silent step forwards, I ruffle the girl's blonde tresses, amazed at how long they'd grown. "Really, Lala; it's beautiful. I swear you could have brought me to Eden and I wouldn't have known the difference."

This time, the blush on her cheeks was caused by my praise.

Before either of us could speak, two small bodies simultaneously rammed into me from the back, tackling me to the floor where we landed in a heap, me on the bottom.

"I win!"

"No way! I got him first!"

"NO! I won!"

"Can't you see that I'm the winner?!"

On and on the boys argued, with me lying face-down on the floor, pinned beneath their weight, praying that they'd hurry up and get off of me.

"Timothy Hearst! Jan Russell!"

Topaz orbs shot over to the woman in the doorway, whilst a chocolate set searched for escape routes.

"Emilia!" I cried from the floor, thankful for my saviour's perfect timing.

Familiar eyes, a faint brown in colouring, glared down at the bandana-wearing French boy perched on my back. "Shouldn't you be studying with Mei-ling?"

The blue-haired boy grumbled out something that sounded like 'killjoy' before stomping off, most likely to ditch his study session, leaving the American youth to the French woman's wrath.

"Didn't Narain ask you to help him out with sorting the medical supplies today?" Emilia queried, already knowing the answer.

Head hung low; Jan slumped and made a big show of climbing off my back and dragging his feet over to the door, adjusting his dull green goggles and tan aviator's hat in the process, something he tended to do when scolded.

Picking myself up off of the floor, I resist the urge to hug the brunette, lest she take it the wrong way and turn me into an eunuch. Since these people are the closest thing I have left to family, I know that she wouldn't hesitate to do something so drastic. Not that I think of any of them like that; it would just be weird. To me, these people are more like little brothers and sisters; simple as that.

"And you." Her hardened gaze shifted over to where I was slowly inching away.

 _Damn._

Two tanned arms crossed. "Shouldn't you be leaving for the monthly trade right about now?"

Guiltily looking down at my bare feet, I now contemplate on whether or not I truly needed saving in the first place. "Maybe."

"Well _maybe_ I should forget to cook you lunch for when you return tomorrow. Does that sound about right?" She retorted, eyes narrowing.

 _Definitely didn't need saving._

Shaking my head furiously from side to side, I rush past the woman, in search of the items I'd need for my trip. "I'll leave now!

Behind me, Emilia's tough exterior cracks for but a moment, just long enough for me to hear what it was whispered after me.

" _If you get yourself killed; I won't forgive you."_

IXIXI

The shoulder-bag strap dug into my shoulder, and I slid my hand inside to check on the merchandise. _Safe_.

It wouldn't do any good for them to be ruined now, when I'd only just left our safe house.

Emilia really could be scary when she wanted to, and she knew exactly how to threaten each and every one of us. Though, I guess it came with the way she was before. I'd heard her mention once that she used to help out at the city's orphanage, tutoring the children and so forth.

It had been the rough Iron Gate and fencing that had kept the zombies at bay. The food supply had been rapidly dwindling, and one of the Nuns had something akin to a mental breakdown. The end result had been that same Nun attempting to put all of the children out of their misery by unlocking the gate and attracting a horde of zombies. By the time I'd arrived at the orphanage, Timothy, Jan and Emilia herself were the only survivors. I'd offered them the change to join my group, and they took it.

I know that she blames herself for what happened to all those children, even though it was in no way her fault. With Emilia now being the big sister to us all, I also know that if she were to lose anyone else, she wouldn't be able to take it; she'd break.

Those three had been with us for over half a year now, and were the last I'd taken in; the first being Mei-ling.

Back then, I was fourteen, barely able to protect myself, let alone a little girl. I remember sneaking into a house in search in search of food, when the sound of sobbing alerted me to the other presence in the room. That's when I'd seen her; a starving child unable to even move, begging for death with those mocha-coloured eyes. In her delirium, she'd mistaken me for an angel; said that with my ethereal appearance, there was no way that I was human.

After that, we'd been together for a couple months when she got sick. Not having anything to treat her with, I hid the girl away somewhere the zombies could never reach. It was when I raided the hospital that I found Narain and Lala.

Narain used to be one of the hospital's inters, whilst Lala had been a patient, having lost her left eye in an accident weeks prior to the begging of this whole mess.

Out of our entire group, Emilia and I are the only ones with any combat experience, though, against zombies, the woman was pretty much useless. I mean, she could take out a few, but when faced with a horde of them, she couldn't do all that much.

That's why I took it upon myself to be the one to protect them all; it's what I promised them, after all.

Emilia is in charge of everyone; she cooks, cleans and tutors the younger ones.

Narain acts as our doctor; without him, we would most definitely have lost some of our group many times over.

Lala grow the food; something that is needed not only for us to eat, but in the trades, too.

Then there's Timothy, Jan and Mei-Ling; they help out where they can. If Emilia needs a second cook, if Narain needs an assistant, if Lala needs a helping hand; it's their responsibility.

As long as our little family of misfits pull their own weight, we should all be fine. Well… as fine as one can be when thrown into an apocalyptic world filled with zombies and bastards.

Zombies aren't the only threat nowadays; humans have proved to be just as monstrous as those decaying hunks of living flesh, the only difference being that humans have yet to start eating humans. That, _and_ zombies have no brain cells at all.

Like now, with those things meandering about below, completely unaware to the fact that I'm watching them from atop the ruins of what once had been a hair salon.

A light breeze ruffles my snowy locks as the sun bathes the city in a burnt amber hue, and, for some inexplicable reason, the view brings back memories from a long time ago.

o

O

 _A dull, aching pain greeted me at the precise moment I regained consciousness, soon followed after by the realisation that I lay in something warm and sticky._

 _With a groan, I rolled my head to the side, eyes widening at the blood pooled around my collapsed form._

 _I crawled to my feet, using the wall as support, wanting to distance myself from the red mess; lying in a pool of my own blood really wasn't going to do any good to my already crumbling mental stability._

 _The moment that my memories of what had transpired flooded back to my confused brain, panic bubbled deep down within my chest, filling my entire being. A whimper escaped my lips as the scene of nearly eaten alive replayed itself over and over, the pain still fresh in my mind._

 _What was that thing?!_

 _Reluctantly, I raked my eyes over what should have been a half-mauled left wrist, only to find that the skin which had once been veiny and red was now smoothed out and the deepest of blacks._

 _Stifling a gasp, I fumble with my shirt buttons, yanking the fabric from my body to examine the changes._

 _The black climbed to halfway up my bicep, leaving an inch of creamy skin before a ring circled parallel around the limb. Two additional rings ran around the same shoulder, where strange arrow-shaped symbols pointed outwards, though they each had circles at the bases, rather like kunai._

 _My fingers felt stiff, as if they hadn't been used in forever, much like how they had been years ago. Fighting off the terror I'd always associated with back then, I shake my head, searching for something to distract me._

 _Then I realised that something in my mind screamed out for attention, and guilt stabbed through me. How could I have been so selfish and inconsiderate as to only be thinking about myself?!_

 _In my anxiety I'd forgotten those of whom I should have thought of first._

 _What had happened to Lenalee? And Lavi? Kanda? How could I have forgotten them even for a second?_

 _What kind of human being was I?!_

 _I had to fight back the temptation to simply rush out in search of the trio, knowing that if I did; I'd probably end up as an actual corpse this time. Being ripped to pieces by monsters wasn't the way I'd planned to go._

 _Pushing those thoughts to the back of my head, I silently prayed for their survival, knowing that with Kanda there to protect them, they would be fine;_ that _I could be sure of. Even if that guy was the biggest dick in the universe, I knew that they wouldn't die. Though with how emotional Lenalee could sometimes be…_

 _Another shake of my head cleared my mind of that; I couldn't be doubting them now._

 _Slipping back into my discarded shirt, I frown down at the ash coating my home in random splotches. The hell…? These weren't here earlier…_

 _My own two hands simultaneously slapping both cheeks snapped me out of my side-tracked thought process._ Focus _,_ Allen!

 _An unsteady gloved hand hesitantly reached out for the door handle, a whole lot of 'what if' situations suddenly bombarding my mind with a whole lot of gruesome images. Well, with what happened last time I opened the damn thing, I have every right to be scarred!_

 _Door clicking shut behind me, I cast a cursory glance over the immediate area. Just as it had been before, the streets were empty of both humans and those things._

 _Starring upwards, I note the sun's positioning, realising that I'd probably been out for an entire day. I may have even woken up a couple hours earlier than the day before, seeing as the light was still in the midst of chasing away the darkness of night._

 _My survival instincts, the very ones I had once discarded in favour of peace, flared back to life after their long disuse, instructing me to stay closer to the walls, escape options always kept in clear sight._

IXIXI

 _They were all the same; void of all emotion. Not one of them could even walk properly, and they just wouldn't cease their unintelligible moaning. At least it gave away their presence, so they could never sneak up on me._

 _What of the people? They, too, were still nowhere to be found._

 _How is it that the human population could just up and vanish like that? It hadn't even been without a trace, either._

 _In the wake of whatever had happened, the buildings themselves hadn't fared all too well, the dozens of small fires springing from every few shattered windows being testimony to that fact._

 _After hours upon hours of observing those things, of watching them continuously stumbling into and over inanimate objects, I'd concluded that not only did they lack any form of intelligence, but I had been correct in my assumption that they couldn't see._

 _A light frown sat on my features when I noticed the small band of the things grouping together, all moving in the same direction._

 _Somewhere nearby, something shatters._

 _It couldn't be…_

 _And then the screaming begins._

 _Varying pitches._

 _Begging._

 _ **Screaming.**_

 _Feet slapping against pavement._

 _ **Screaming.**_

 _A woman crying out for help._

 _ **Screaming**_ _._

 _PlEAdInG._

 _Hands shaking, I silently turn away from the commotion, simply putting one foot in front of the other until I'm running and the screams were far behind._

 _Life itself had taught me that things such as 'caring' and 'sympathy' were things that should be discarded immediately if I wanted to live. That lesson had been engrained into my very core many times over._

 _By those beings who would rather listen to the screams of others than do something about it._

 _ **By humans.**_

 _And I was the same._

 _What I had just done was proof enough of that._

 _ **I'm only human**_ _._

 _Just like them, I too, am a monster._

IXIXI

 _By the time I'd returned, my breathing had become heavy and laboured, indicating that I really shouldn't have let myself become so out of shape these past two years. Amazing what normality can do to a person…_

 _It was then that something_ off _caught my eye._

 _The door lay ajar; not at all how I'd left it earlier this morning._

 _Why would someone…?_

 _When it clicked into place, my knees suddenly felt weak, and a single hand gripping the door handle was all that kept me from collapsing once again._

 _No way… they couldn't have… they_ wouldn't _have… right?_

 _Another moment of thinking was enough for me to realise that_ yes; _they_ would _have._

 _They had to have known how utterly stupid and dangerous it was! Those fools!_

 _Even with my heart aching, simply knowing that they were alive put me at ease, and that alien feeling of warmth nestled deep within my stomach at the possibility of them actually searching for me, even with the world as far gone as it now appeared to be._

 _The stench of blood soon wafted through the open door as I stood there, pulling me from my thoughts with a jolt._

 _W-with all the blood… they must have thought me dead…_

 _Evening light crept through the opened door, ever-so-slowly turning everything an eerie orange._

 _That warm feeling quickly curdled deep within me, guilt turning it into disgust over myself._

 _What right did I have to even_ think _that way about them? After all; what kind of idiots would put up with a freak who didn't even know how to_ die _properly?_

O

o

IXIXI

 _So this chapter is more like a flashback over some of how and what happened to get Allen to where he is now. It also introduces Allen's new family._

 _The chapters will always alternate between Allen and Kanda's P. O. V's_

 _And Allen is not in a romantic relationship with anyone right now. They all have brother/sister brother/brother relationships going on._

 _Sorry for my tardiness_


	4. Bonds And Blood

**Bonds and Blood**

Yu Kanda

It was… quiet. Peaceful even. Up here, with only the sea breeze for company, I didn't have to worry about a thing. Up here, I could meditate without being annoyed by the likes of any one of those annoyan-

"Kanda!"

 _Fuck._

I glared down at whoever had dared to interrupt me, not at all surprised to find that that culprit was Komui, a stupid smile on that maniac's face. From what I could see, in his hands he held the clipboard he'd once borrowed from Lenalee. It now belonged to him, seeing as the man hadn't given it back, always making up one excuse or another as to why he couldn't. He probably just wanted it because it belonged to his 'beautiful and perfect' Lenalee.

I climb down the in-built ladder of the giant satellite pole with practised ease, seeing as I've been doing it nearly every day for about two years now. This place was roughly a kilometre away from land, isolated by the ocean on all sides. Apparently it had once been used as a star-gazing research centre or something, but I'd never cared enough to listen. All I needed to know was that this island was our own little safe-haven. And it needed to be, too, seeing as we now had over thirty people in our group of survivors.

That meant thirty people to shelter. Thirty people to clothe. Thirty people to feed.

By the time I'd reached him, Komui already held a few sheets out paper in his hands, obviously planning on handing them to me. Which he did. Not that I'd bother to read anything; if it was important, he'd tell me.

"When?"

He gave off a knowing smile at my curt reply. "Now. Form a team; pick whoever you want."

I strode off towards the dorms, throwing all that Komui had handed me into a nearby bin. It was useless to me anyway.

Supply runs like were a regular activity, normally occurring every couple weeks. Things like basic foods and medicines could be cultivated here, sure, but weaponry, toiletries and clothes were another matter. A raid or two on the nearby houses had once been enough to tide everyone over, now we could hardly keep up with how quickly they were all used up. I, personally, blame it on the women. Not that I would ever tell them that. Sometimes women could be just as bad, if not worse, than the zombies. _Those_ , at least, I could kill.

Everyone pitched in. The rules here were simple; you don't work: you don't eat.

Even though I acted as if this were all some kind of annoying chore, I actually appreciated the chance to get away from this place. Slicing zombies was just a bonus. Surprisingly, it was the perfect stress-relief.

Spotting an aggravatingly bright head of red hair, my fingers twitched towards Mugen, already anticipating having to draw my cherished sword. "Oi, Usagi! Get Lenalee, Daisya, Marie, and Fou; we're going out!"

Lavi's head popped up at the sound of my voice, shooting me a grin as my orders registered in his head. "Sure thing, Yu-chan!"

It grit my teeth together as he ran off in the direction of the women's dorm area. Killing him here wasn't a good idea. _Nowhere to hide the body._

Lavi Bookman. Lenalee Lee. Daisya Barry. Noise Marie. Fou.

These five were my ultimate team.

Lenalee was faster than I, though her close-combat abilities weren't quite up to par.

Lavi made up for that. At first, I'd thought he'd been kidding about using a long-handled hammer in a fight, yet somehow he wasn't dead yet. He smashed in zombie heads pretty well.

Daisya, on the other hand, excelled at mid-range fights. The bastard used twin hand guns that made my ears ring every time he fired them. That's why the entire team now owned earplugs.

Marie may be blind, but his hearing makes up for that. We all would have all died several times over if he hadn't been with us. Not that I'd ever tell him that; praise never did come easy for me. Marie was also a pretty decent sniper. Apparently he could hear where the zombies were so he didn't even need to be able to see.

And then there was Fou. Crappy at long-distance fights, close-combat being her strong point; that woman could kick the crap out of just about anyone, zombies never standing a chance. Well, unless she was up against a horde.

I was just about to take the boat keys from the hook when an almighty force slams into my back.

"How could you pick my darling Lenalee?!"

All I could do was roll my eyes at his antics, already long since used to them by now.

By the time I'd finally managed to pry Komui's arms off from around my waist, Lavi was already jumping up and down like the rabbit he was. "When we get to the car, I'm driving!"

Shooting him a glare, I shook my head once. _Never again_ , I vowed, would that _idiot_ be allowed to drive. _Not after…_ I visibly shuddered at the thought of what happened on our last outing. _Lucky to be alive…_

I was the driver.

With Lavi now in the back, and Marie beside me, I breathe a sigh of relief. This I could handle. Marie was quiet. Marie did not make me want to commit seppuku.

This group of survivors would be fine without its main fighters for a while. For reasons still unknown, despite Komui's many, _many_ experiments, these zombies had a natural aversion to water. It wasn't just salt water, either. They didn't give a damn if they'd been dunked in the stuff, but they would actively go out of their way to avoid it. Who honestly cared about 'why'? As long as they stayed that way, we'd all survive.

IXIXI

 _FUCKING KILL ME ALREADY!_

Five hours in a confined space with that shit-for-brains Usagi had me just about ready to ram the damn vehicle into a brick wall and be done with it all.

My sour mood had reached all-time lows when I found his latest activity to be sticking his head out of the window to scream out nonsensical phrases. "I'm coming, Juliet!"

"Shut the fuck up!"

Lavi pulled his head back inside to give me a disappointed look through the side mirror, before sighing and resuming his childish games. This time, I definitely heard something that resembled 'Yu drives like an old woman' hollered into the wind.

Jerking the steering wheel to the left, then quickly righting it, I heard a satisfying 'ouch' from the backseat as the Usagi's head collided with the window's edge. " _Who_ drives like an old woman?"

His physical pain brightened my mood the tiniest bit. And then a voice from the backseat had to go and ruin it. "Hey, Kanda?"

Glancing at Lenalee in the rear-view-mirror, I notice how pale she'd become. "Hn?"

"This place is…" She trailed off, biting her lip.

After trying to peer through the tinted windows fails to yield any plausible answers to the girl's obvious discomfort, I manually roll down the windows, air streaming across my face. _Fucking wind…_

I feel my eyes narrow, lip curling at the somewhat familiar sight, taking in the now crumbled buildings and winding pillars of grey smoke fading into the sky. Taking a deep breath, I remove my gaze from our surroundings; focus solely on the wheel between my hands, next words lost in the roaring of the winds rushing past.

" _Two fucking years now…"_

IXIXI

 _I'll just stand in the corner and take any criticism for my lateness like the man I'm not_


	5. Trade

**Trade**

Allen Walker

Rubbing my hands together in an attempt to stave off the cold, I sigh, watching with slight interest as my breath creates a small cloud of fog.

I wasn't that far now; maybe another half-hour's walk and I'd be there. _After a whole day of driving hotwired cars, I'd better be._

Somewhere, something that sounded vaguely like a can being kicked echoed throughout the silence. Silently cursing, I let my eyes rake over the immediate area, quickly moving to slip through the open window of a nearby abandoned house. Nowadays, it was better to be safe than sorry. Well, that and the fact that I knew better than to attract a horde here of all places.

My eyes automatically scan the room to make sure it was clear, pushing back the feelings of relief that crept in at finding out that it was. It wouldn't do for me to indulge myself in things like that. The only way to stay alive in this era was to always stay on guard, never once falling prey to one's own emotions.

Then again… I'd failed the moment I'd met Mei-ling.

Leaving someone to die was much harder to do the moment you saw their faces. It stirred things in my heart that should never have allowed to see the light of day.

Though, even if I appreciated being alone, there was no way I'd have been able to withstand it. I would have sought out human company eventually. So, maybe forming that little group was actually for the best. And maybe… just maybe… it was my one shot at redemption.

I settled on the ground, legs crossed, positioned so that all entries were in sight. It was best just to wait here for now, letting any danger that may have been present just pass along without creating a scene.

Eventually, I eased my back up against the wall, slowly closing my eyes, listening intently for anything out of the ordinary.

It had been a long day; a little rest necessary.

o

O

 _I tore my arm free from the thing's clutch, failing in trying to run as another dragged me back by my hair._

 _How could I have been so_ stupid _? I knew going outside would result in this: I_ knew. _So why did I even leave the house?_

 _God, I was a fool!_

 _Two shots fired from a gun cut through the sound of strained breathing and unnatural moaning, and with them, the grip on my hair loosened._

 _I turned my wide-eyed gaze up to my saviour, who only glared down at me with disdain, before he turned to leave. "Thought I was saving a woman, but it's just some brat," he grumbled under his breath, though I still heard it._

 _All I did was stare after his retreating form for a few seconds, then snapped out of my trance, quickly looking around myself then hurrying after the man._

 _When he heard my footsteps loud against the pavement, he whirled on the spot, the pistol pointed straight at the centre of my forehead._

" _You can use a gun," I look up at him, mouth dry. This was my chance!_

 _I see him roll his left eye, the other hidden beneath a mask that covered nearly the entire right side of his face. "And?"_

" _Can you… please teach me how?" I ask, desperately hoping that he'll agree. It's barely even been a couple days and I'm already struggling. The only reason I'd even left the house was that I'd run out of food. With no way to protect myself, the best I could do was to get someone to help me. It didn't matter what I had to do, be it beg, borrowing or stealing._

" _No." The answer had been given to me straight, there being no room for a second though, no moment of contemplation. But I didn't care. As if I would give up so easily._

" _Teach me." I was a tenacious little bugger; that I knew._

" _No."_

" _Teach me." I_ would _get what I wanted._

" _Shut it!"_

" _Teach m-"_

" _If you want me to teach you," the man interrupted, gun back to being aimed at my head, "annoying me isn't the way to go about it!"_

" _Then what should I do?" I ask patiently, biting back the small smirk that came with getting this person to do as I wanted, albeit grudgingly… and a tad violently._

 _He appeared to think for a second, but I could tell that he already had something in mind. These kinds of people always did. "Get me wine; lots of it." Ahh. So he's_ that _kind of person. "I'm gonna need it if I have to put up with a brat like you."_

" _So if I get you alcohol, you promise to teach me?" One couldn't be too careful; I had to be sure._

 _He stared me straight in the eye, and I could tell there was no deceit in him. "Get me the expensive stuff. I'll need a bottle a day."_

 _And I nearly made it there without incident, too. The bar had been right THERE, in sight, even._

 _Unfortunately, the moment I'd passed a narrower alleyway to some backroad street, I was met with those unseeing eyes that had become quite the common occurrence these past few days. Two sets._

 _I stumbled back, trying to stay out of reach from its bony outstretched hand, when I ran into another._

 _I was unsure how they'd managed to sneak up on me, seeing as they were_ dead _, but with the situation I was in, I couldn't exactly think on it for too long._

 _Weak looking, yet terrifyingly strong hands clamped down on me, holding me in place as mutilated faces drew closer, and I couldn't help the gasp that slipped out. 'Is this my… punishment?'_

 _Now that I was immobile, they were on me in a heartbeat, teeth sinking into me; my legs, my arms, my torso; tearing through the flesh with inhuman ease, trying to devour me in their insatiable hunger for more._

 _ **Blood**_ _._

 _I barely held back the screams that threatened to make themselves heard, knowing that it wouldn't do me any good to attract unwanted attention, especially with how things now were._

 _ **It was the colour of rust.**_

 _The very pain of what they were doing to me sought to consume me, burning tears forming at the corners of my wide eyes._

 _ **It was everywhere.**_

 _I watched as a dark grey tint tainted my sickly pale pigmentation for but a second as the virus -the poison- spread throughout my body, entering my bloodstream, infecting my organs, dulling my senses, before the colour retreated and paled back to cream, taking with it what it had injected into me._

 _ **It was gone.**_

 _The zombies made to make another grab for me, and they would have reached me, too, had they not begun to crumble. And crumble they did; 'til they were nothing more than that familiar grey ash that was soon carried off and scattered by the next gust of wind, all traces of the walking corpses now gone._

 _Confusion exploded and expanded in my head, raising questions, demanding answers that I didn't have._

 _What was… happening to me?_

 _Looking down, I saw the multitude of bite marks gouged into my arms. They hurt. I was in pain. What had just happened… it had been no mere hallucinations._

 _What had I become?_

 _I viciously shook my head from side to side; there were more important things to do than worry about one more thing wrong with me._

 _Quickly covering my arms with the long sleeves of the semi-clean dress-shirt I'd found lying around at home, I prayed that no one would notice._

IXIXI

 _I shoved the bottle into his waiting hands, the contents sloshing about from the quick movement._

 _The man arched a brow -the only one I could see-, smirking. "Maybe you're not so worthless after all."_

" _N-now… your promise… teach me… how… to use a gun." I huff, utterly exhausted from my journey down the street. And I had every right to be. Nearly dying did that to a person._

" _Wha- hold on… you smell like blood." Without waiting for me to say something, anything, the man grabbed at my right arm, tugging up my shirt sleeve, leaning forwards so as to examine the multiple marks marring the flesh. "You're covered in bites."_

 _Fear struck though me, quick like a wildfire, cold as ice. My gaze fixed itself firmly on the ground._

" _And you haven't started drooling yet," he continued, distrust slowly creeping into his voice. "Who are you?"_

 _I met his stare, trying to make myself seem less pathetic. "A-Allen. Allen Walker. Now let go of my arm!" I yanked it from his vice-like grip with a wince; that would most definitely leave a bruise. "I don't know why I'm like this, s-so don't bother asking!"_

 _His crimson eyes had narrowed, almost as it her were observing something that interested him. It scared me._

" _Start off by calling me 'Master'; got it, brat?"_

 _My heart skipped a beat. Slowly, I reluctantly nodded._

 _If it meant surviving…._

O

o

And odd buzzing sound interrupted by thoughts; it was a sound that didn't quite fit in with the world as it now was.

Climbing silently out of the window, I scolded myself for resting long enough that the fence had already been erected.

Quickly following the sound, I allowed myself a small smile at the sight of the electric fencing. It would hold up against the zombies for three days, at the most. That was more than enough time for what was planned.

Scaling up the ruined sides of one of the buildings closest to the fence wasn't all too difficult, even with the bag still slung over my shoulder. Jumping down over the fence onto the waiting mattress below was pretty easy too. Well, it had to be, considering.

I checked the goods to make sure they hadn't been damaged in the jump, pleased to see that they hadn't. It wouldn't been a pain to get all the way here then find out I had nothing to trade.

"Walker!"

I started at the sound of my name, turning to see Link leap down off the same building I had, blond braid swinging with the movement.

My lips twitched into the slightest of smirks. "You're late, Link."

"I'm actually early this time," he scoffed, making his way over to me with long strides.

 _Damn him and his long legs._

"But you, on the other hand, are later than usual." Dark grey -almost black- eyes looked down at me questioningly.

 _Why is he so tall?!_

Link's group, the Crows, resided within half-a-mile of our base, coexisting with one another. We had an unspoken treaty of sorts: If one was in trouble, the other would come to their aid; that's how it had been since our groups had each been formed. The two even traded with each other at times.

But that was a rarity.

That's where this place came into play.

Neither of us could survive on fruits and vegetables alone, but we simply didn't have the room nor the resources to care for animals.

On the other hand, the people who first set up this whole operation moved frequently, a group of ten whom raised and herded cattle. They often brought crates of fish, something that not many had the time to get nowadays. Fishing took far too long, and there was always the danger of being chanced upon by a horde lying in wait for all who tried.

So here we were: the monthly trade.

It only went for a single day, and if you missed it, you missed out.

Money was a thing of the past. What mattered most is if you had something that could be of use to another; clothing, food, weapons, medical products and the like had practically all been taken within the first half-year. If they hadn't, then many were unusable.

The trade had grown popular in recent months, many coming to exchange their produce and actually acquire a proper meal for the first time in years.

Though, the harsh reality of life here is that if you had nothing, you got nothing. Much like how the world had been before this apocalyptic mess began. Only now, the people who used to be rich were the first to die, be it from their lack of ability to do anything for themselves, or being beaten to death by survivors desperate for their next meal.

My group had run out of the meat we'd been rationing a little over a week ago, and I could honestly say that the rabbit life was not for me. I mean, strawberries and carrots every day for a week…

IXIXI

I jogged around the small group of people bartering over goat's milk, face settled into a frown. I'd gotten enough to last us for a while, so that wasn't the problem. For some reason, uneasiness had built up in the pit of my stomach, constantly nagging at the back of my mind.

It would be best to get back as soon as possible; ever since that first day, I'd learnt that my instincts must always be followed. Doing so could save one's life.

"Something wrong?"

I whirled around on the spot, hand resting on the gun hidden at my hip, only to be met with the completely serious face of one Howard Link. He was going to give me a heart attack one day, what with how many times he snuck up on me. It was possible he thought it was a game… then again, he had no sense of humour whatsoever. . I sighed, calming myself. "I'm worried…"

Two brows furrow, the odd fork towards their ends curving up to the natural parting of his hairline. "You too?"

My breath caught, but I hid it with a quick nod of my head. "I've finished up here, so I'll be heading back now." For both of us to have this feeling…

"I've got everything I need; do you mind if we travel together?" He shifted his own shoulder-strap bag into a more comfortable position, staring straight at me unnervingly.

No matter how many times this has happened, he always asks the same question, despite already knowing my answer will be unchanging. "Not at all."

It's nice to know that some things never change.

IXIXI

 _Woohoo sleep deprived as hell!_

SO I found out a funfact about myself. If I refuse to allow myself to sleep, I get WAY more work done than I thought. It also works if I have a cruddy day.


	6. Forgotten Ties

**Forgotten Ties**

Yu Kanda

"You love pissing me off, don't you?"

Lavi grinned, arms out as he balanced on the top of the crumbling brick half-wall. "Close, but no cigar."

"Who the fuck even uses that expression in this day and age?" I shoot a glare up at him, contemplating whether or not I should push him off.

"I do," the idiot stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world; which to him, it probably was.

"I hate dealing with imbeciles," I mutter under by breath.

"You hate dealing with everyone," he smiled, wobbling slightly with every step.

Talking like this was a good distraction; it left me with less time to brood; it left me with less time to notice how much this place had changed. From the upturned cars to the blood-stained walkways: it really was like something from a horror movie.

There was no one around, everything being completely silent. That, in itself, was a cause for concern. It had all six of us all the more on guard.

Wherever zombies went, they made nose, attracting more and more until they eventually become a horde. A clear sign off a horde was that the surrounding area would be free of all zombie activity. Meaning, if we were found, we'd be in some real deep shit.

Being caught by a horde was one of the worst things that could happen nowadays. Very rarely did anyone ever make it out alive after facing one.

The hair on the back of my neck prickled, my head shooting up as I scanned the immediate area, trying to find what it was that had given me this kind of feeling.

"Kanda." Marie's firm hand rested on my shoulder, drawing my attention.

"What?"

All of us visibly stiffened at the sound of screaming, the sound high in pitch, indicated the young age of the one making it.

"There's about ten of them."

My instincts kicked in, and I raced towards the sound, not bothering to turn and check that the others were following, knowing with absolute certainty that they were.

"You idiot! Don't fuckin' scream!" Someone yelled, the voice holding a masculine tenor.

A shot rang out seconds later, particularly loud in the silence.

"Put the gun down, you stupid bitch!"

Our footsteps were light, barely audible, a skill we'd mastered in these past two years.

We all slowed as we reached the sounds of a struggling, peeking out from behind a ruined building, taking care to keep an eye out for zombies.

A woman with dirty-blonde hair held up in a high ponytail stood in front of a group of younger children, a bulky gun in hand, pointed at a rather skinny-looking male with nondescript brown hair. "Put him down right now!"

The skinny guy shifted, and I saw the brat struggling to free himself from the former's grip. "Like hell! You have the best stash in the city; no way we're passing it up now that he's not here!"

Anger flared through the woman's eyes, her hands tightening on the gun. "So you think we're helpless because he's away on a supply run?"

"Of course you are!" He stepped back, dragging the noncompliant boy with him. "Just look at you! One stupid woman and five children!"

"Just stop this!" Pleaded another girl, her knee-length cotton skirt and pure white tank-top not matching the dirtied world around her. Long blonde hair flowed down her lower back, her pale, unblemished body showing that she'd never fought a day in her life; the only thing that made her look relatively as if she belonged in this world being the bandage wrapped around the upper left part of her face, hiding her eye from view.

Another bulkier male pulled the frail girl towards his chest with a sneer. "Look at this: I bet we can have some fun with this one."

"Lala!" A tanned boy cried, soft brown eyes distressed.

All of them looked weak; it was no wonder they'd wound up in this sort of situation. How they'd even lasted this long was a complete mystery.

Then the seemingly-fragile blonde girl bit her captor 'til she drew blood.

That's when I sprang into action, coming from behind to swing a punch at the nearest male, hitting him right in the jaw. He crumbled to the ground, eyes rolling back in his head. It just so happened that he was the jackass to be bitten by the girl. _Weakling._

My fingers twitched towards my swords when another bang resounded through the air, quirking a brow when the skinny guy fell, a circular hole through the centre of his head. The other cronies soon fell; some with shots to the arms, others to the legs.

"Emilia!"

The older blonde woman held out her arms, the young boy running into them. "Godammit, Timothy! How many times have I told you not to go outside on your own?!"

An extremely petite girl, mossy-coloured hair cut close to her face, two small plaits brushing her cheeks, appeared from who-knows-where, sliding her own gun into the holster at her hip. "Are you alright? We heard the screaming."

The first woman nodded, rubbing circles into the now-sobbing boy's back. "We're fine now."

And then the mossy-haired girl's maroon eyes were on me. They were observing me. Assessing me. She held out her hand, posture straight; whether she was trying to be polite, of she was just plain friendly, I couldn't care less. "I don't believe we've met."

I looked down at her outstretched hand with clear disdain until she removed it.

Lavi elbowed me in the ribs. "Now Yu chan," he chastised, "you should be nicer to people you've just met."

"I don't give a fuck about being 'nice', dipshit," I shot back.

"I didn't say 'nice', I said 'nicer'; there's a difference."

I would have countered with something ridiculously snarky, had one of the bastards on the ground not scrambled to his feet, trying to make a run for it despite being wounded. Gritting my teeth, I drew my sword, kicking him back down where he belonged, keeping the blade at his throat.

At least, I kept it there until someone aimed a punch at me. Luckily, I leapt back before the blow landed, reflexively stabbing out at whoever had attacked me.

The figure dodged, raising a gun and shooting at my head.

I ducked, barely managing to avoid the shot.

We hesitated for a second, eyes raking over each other as we took in the appearance of the other.

A black scarf wrapped tightly around his neck and a tucked into a hood of the same colour, both worked to hide nearly everything that could identify him from my view. Camo cargo-pants hugged his hips, not too tight, but not all that baggy, either. It was a smart choice; that kind of outfit was one made to allow better movement, and from the way he moved, he was making full use of that fact.

The youngest girl, one with odd Chinese-style ornaments holding her hair back, tried to run forward, only to be pulled back by the darker-skinned boy from earlier. "Both of you, stop it!" She screamed, flailing in the elder's grip. "Big brother! It's not what it looks like! They were just trying to help!"

He paused, chancing a glance at the girl.

 _He's on their side? Whatever. The little shit started this._

With that thought in mind, I charged, ducking under the fist he sent my way and swinging my sword in an upwards strike, only to have my legs swept out from under me. Refusing to let it end, I reached out as I fell, gripping his black scarf and dragging him down with me.

We grappled on the ground, rolling around with the both of us unwilling to let the other win. He smashed the butt of his gun against my cheek, using that second to roll us so that he was the one on top. Triumph practically rolled off him in waves, that is, until I kneed him between the legs, using the pain-induced distraction I'd created as a way to turn the tables and have his smaller form as the one pinned beneath me. "Shouldn't have gotten so full of yourself, baka," I taunted with a grin.

The blade of my katana dug into the fabric concealing his neck, just as the barrel of his gun met my temple. He was quick to react, I'd give him that. Though, his right hand's knuckles were clenched tightly over their gloved counterparts', indicating that the pain hadn't subsided.

We were at an impasse.

Before he could act, I ripped the scarf from his face, throwing the annoying thing to the side. With its disappearance, the hood fell back, revealing snow-coloured hair that splayed around a pale face like a halo, a pair of shining silver eyes glaring defiantly up into my own. They challenged me, just as they always had.

My breath caught in my throat, mouth going unnaturally dry.

 _Shitshitshitshit. Tell me I'm hallucinating!_

That youthful glow of his hadn't yet diminished, remaining even with all that had gone on.

And that scar… an upturned star that crudely marked the area above his eye, with a line continuing down to a little ways above a soft cheek, before hooking once then falling down his face as a tear streak, with another wonkier line cutting though just above hook.

Even though I didn't want to say it, somehow the word... that damn nickname I'd accidentally given him on the day of our meeting… it slipped out…

"Mo…yashi?"

IXIXI

 _And there we have it!_


	7. Meeting The Past

**Meeting the Past**

Allen Walker

The sun was high above, illuminating everything. _Warming_ everything. Well… nearly everything.

I was still so _cold_.

Then again, I couldn't remember a time when I wasn't cold. Whatever they did to me, it was permanent. It would never leave me for as long as I lived.

 _It isn't fair_.

Though, I reckon she'd scold me if she could hear me now.

o

O

" _You're the 'Fourteenth', right?"_

 _Something soft pokes my arm._

" _I'm the 'Ninth'; it's a pleasure to meet you."_

 _A dainty hand tightly grips my own._

" _My real name?"_

 _A giggle from the darkness._

" _You shouldn't be asking questions like that~"_

 _The rustling of fabric._

" _But if you really want to know…"_

 _Spine-chilling screams resound from down the cold metal walls of the hall._

" _Road Kamelot."_

 _O_

 _o_

I shivered, hugging myself in an attempt to warm my chilled body.

I missed warmth.

"Walker, are you alright?"

I give Link a silent nod, cursing myself for not hiding it better. Making others worry over me left a bad taste in my mouth. I didn't like burdening them with things from the past.

Little snippets of conversations like those always made themselves known at the oddest of times. My mind had that bad habit of drifting off into its own little world whenever I knew myself to be safe.

It made sense, I suppose.

That girl and I had been stuck together for a while; it could have been around about a year, but we never really had any way to measure time down there… and the darkness made even brief spans of time seem like eternities… so it could have only been a month… or perhaps a week…

I don't even remember what had happened to her. Had she been allowed out? Had she been one of the many to die from those damned injections?

They didn't tell me anything. No one had ever told me anything.

 _It really isn't fair._

"Hey… Link?"

The blonde's deep grey eyes shot up at the sound of his name, the silence that followed being his way of waiting for me to continue.

"I…" My tongue felt heavy. "I'm… my memories…"

I saw my string of unclear words register in his eyes, how they hardened, and he nodded.

If it was Link, I didn't really mind. The German man before me wasn't the type to baby someone who'd proved themselves in the ways I had. He dealt with me like an equal.

Because that's what we were.

He would listen; I guess that's all I really needed.

I didn't tell him the entirety of it, but he knew enough. He was the one I'd accidentally spilled to when the backup generator had gone out and lightning had lit up the night sky. He was the one who held me and kept silent the secrets that he'd effortlessly coaxed from me every time the next peal of thunder scared me stiff. He was the only one who'd accepted me straight away for the monster that I am, and for that, I was grateful.

He didn't judge me.

And he didn't even bat an eye upon seeing what I hid beneath all these layers; not even I had been able to do that.

"It was Road…" I began unsurely, eyes on the rubble of a crumbled building we were walking past that I just so happened to find so utterly _fascinating_ right now.

"I see," was his reply to me. Curt, sure; but to the point. "And the shivering?"

I smiled ruefully to myself; it was just like Link to not leave that alone. "I'm still cold."

He didn't say anything to that. How could he? It was, like, twenty-five degrees* out here _and_ I was completely covered. Ever since this happened to the world, the weather had been rather odd. It was December, but everyone was _sweating_.

Well… everyone, that is, except me.

"Road could make me warm," I whispered to myself, lips downturned at the corners.

"No one else?" Link asked, the proximity of his voice startling me from my thoughts.

I closed my eyes, this time _really_ smiling. "Road made me warm, but I met three others who were close…" My heart clenched at the thought of them. I sorely missed them with all I had.

"And what happened to-" The blond stopped himself midsentence.

I stole a glance at him, seeing that he thought what he'd asked was a stupid question, all things considering. "I don't think they're dead."

He started at that, one of his odd brows aching. "Then I think they're alive, too."

"Hmm?"

Link stepped around a particularly large chunk of cement, the sound of his shoes against the ground not audible. "You're not an optimist; you wouldn't say they're alive just because you didn't want to believe it."

My lips pressed into a thin line. Was I really that easy to read?

I guess I was.

But… was that really such a bad thing?

IXIXI

We'd barely made it to my little hideout when the sounds of gunshots met my ears and I froze, Link beside me tensing, too.

The sounds had come from the direction of where I lived, as did the screams and shouts that came soon after.

Shoving the bag none too carefully into Link's waiting hands; I dashed towards the screaming, praying to whoever would listen that I made it before it was too late. I refused to lose any more. My heart couldn't bear it.

What I came across was Emilia, Timothy, Narain, Lala and Kiredori all on guard, most with weapons drawn, all facing a man with a sword, every single one of them not yet noticing my presence.

Identifying the dark-haired man as the enemy, I sprang at him from where I stood, aiming for his face. With battle-hardened reflexes, he avoided the punch, stabbing out at me without a moment' hesitation or delay. I sidestepped the slash, managing to get in a shot of which he dodged by ducking.

The two of us stopped to catch out breaths for a second. I could feel him soaking in my appearance, committing it to memory, and I was suddenly _very_ appreciative of my low hood and scarf for hiding my features from the world. His gaze made me feel all tingly, like there was something inside my clothes, and I didn't like it.

Unlike him, my sole focus was on his weapon. I refused to let that thing out of my sight, now knowing how adept he was at using it and that it wasn't just for display.

There was some commotion from the side, and I heard gave it a sideways glance to find Mei-Ling trying to run towards us as Narain held her back, something I was grateful for. "Both of you, stop it!" She screamed, still struggling. "Big brother! It's not what it looks like! They were just trying to help!"

I then took note of the other unknowns on the ground close to where Mei-Ling and the others were, most of whom lay unconscious and bleeding.

While my attention was elsewhere, the guy I was fighting came at me again, swooping in an upwards slash right after avoiding yet another one of my punches. _If that's how he wants it!_

Quicker than he could react to, I kicked out at his legs, but the bastard unexpectedly grabbed at my scarf and pulled me down with him.

He was heavier than me, and he used his additional weight to his advantage as we fought. That is, until I slammed my gun into his face. Forcing another roll, I held him down, more than a little smug at having been the winner here.

Well, I was smug around about until I got a knee between the legs for my actions.

In that split second my mind flashed through with white and pain as my thoughts cut of completely and I worked to stifle the cry that attempted to make itself know. I would _not_ give this jackarse the pleasure of hearing that.

When I blinked again, I took full notice of the fact that we'd been rolled again and I was now the one on the bottom.

"Shouldn't have gotten so full of yourself, baka," he sneered, sword's blade at my neck.

 _I'M_ _the one full of myself?!_

Before he could say another word, I twisted my wrist so that my gun pressed against his head, still unwilling to let this guy win.

I'd like to say we were at a stalemate, but the truth was that I was still feeling the aftereffects of what he'd done and _damn_ did they hurt like hell! My body was screaming at me to stop moving and rest, especially after I'd already spent practically the whole day sitting in a stolen car travelling back here from the trade. I ached all over and his body pressed up against mine wasn't doing me any favours.

While I was busy glowering into the dark depths of those cobalt orbs above to prove that I still refused to submit, the man above me tore the scarf from my face.

Expecting some kind of snarky joke about my appearance, I readied myself for a battle of sarcasm and scathing remarks, only, that wasn't what happened.

That iron grip on my collar loosened, becoming less uncomfortable, and more like he just wanted to get a better look at my face.

That aggravated me. Yes, I knew how weird I looked, but did this guy not have the decency to stop staring? It was making my skin feel all strange again.

"Mo…yashi?"

My mouth twitched, the odd urge to punch something making itself know.

Then what he'd said actually processed in my mind and I froze. I let it process some more, just to be sure I hadn't misheard.

 _That nickname is…_

"H-how do you know…?" I trailed off, finally getting a good look at the person above me, eyeing the strands of navy blue fell from their confines. And his _eyes_. "Kan…da?" My gun slipped from my finger, landing on the gravel beside my head. Not that I cared about that by this point. Had I really heard what I thought I did? "Yu?"

Something flickered through his eyes, something I couldn't identify, but it was just as quickly replaced by apathy that automatically made me relax at the familiarity of it. "Che. Don't call me that."

"It…really is you…" Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, running down my face, the first I'd shed in years. "Y-you've gotten taller."

"And you're still a midget," he pointed out dryly.

I chuckled up at him at his rather obvious response. "You r-really haven't ch-changed a b-bit."

"You have," he muttered, finally climbing off of me and brushing himself off. "You turned into a cry-baby."

I rubbed at my face with the back of a gloved hand, smiling stupidly at him. "I'll have you know that this is the first time I've cried in over four years."

A cough from my far right drew my attention to a group of people I'd thought I'd never see again. A head of red immediately stuck out, as did the green beside it. "Lavi? Lenalee?"

The two of them stood there, Lenalee tightly gripping Lavi's arm, the both of them pale, like they'd just seen a ghost. Lenalee's pretty purple eyes shone with unshed tears, filled with so much emotion that it made my throat feel thick.

Scrambling to my feet, I ran at them without a second thought, throwing my arms around them and holding them until their own arms wrapped around me and the three of us were all crying together.

And I was _warm_.

IXIXI

*I use Celsius so – 25 degrees Celsius = 77-ish degrees Fahrenheit

This is NOT a roadXallen fanfic. I DON'T ship that pairing unless I really need to mess with Kanda's head and/or it was a past love.

This is also NOT a linkXallen fanfic


	8. Turn Of Events

**Turn of Events**

Yu Kanda

"Walker."

My eyes instinctively darted to the new arrival, narrowing at his silent arrival. The man was around my age, his braid blond and the dark fabrics he wore matching his eyes, eyes that were on the Moyashi, filled with questions. And trust.

The Moyashi removed himself from Lenalee and Lavi's combined embrace, giving his full attention to the man, cocking his head to the side, a habit of his that had apparently remained even after all these years. "Hm?"

"You know them?"

He nodded, smiling, wiping away at the wetness on his face. "From before."

The blond stared, expression neutral. "There are three."

Startled, the Moyashi blinked, and then he blushed. "Yeah."

"I see," the other said, tone making it sound as if there was more to it than that, like there was a whole other meaning behind those words, something we weren't meant to know. Something private.

For some strange reason, that got on my nerves.

What irked me even more was the excitement that came when the blond presented Allen with a black over-the-shoulder bag, and said white-haired boy perked up considerably. "Ah! I nearly forgot about that!"

The blonde woman from earlier glared cantankerously. "If you _had_ forgotten about that, you would have lost your food privileges for the month."

Aghast, the Moyashi's eyes went wide. "You don't really mean that, right, Emilia?"

At the look she gave him, Allen flinched. So yes, she meant it every word, and he knew it.

"So…" Giving the rest of us a stiff smile, the British brat gestured to the blond man with a gloved hand. "This is Howard Link."

And it appeared he hadn't lost his lack of ability to unnoticeably change the subject. _Interesting…_

The -now blushing- woman shot me a lustful smile, seeming to have only just now really taken a good look at us, partially raising her hand to draw our attention. It was barely noticeable, but I saw the subtle thrusting back of her shoulders, and how the action worked to show off her slightly-bigger-than-average bust. "I'm Emilia."

It took a lot of restraint for me to fight the urge to roll my eyes.

And then the woman gestured to some of the people around us, taking it upon herself to introduce the rest of her group members.

I only bothered to pick up the basics of their features, not really finding them at all interesting.

"Narain."

 _Indian. Brown eyes. Tawny hair. Mid-teen._

Mei-Ling."

 _Small. Chinese. Brown eyes. Brown hair._

"Timothy."

 _Still small. Blue mullet. Caramel-coloured eyes._

"Lala."

 _Blonde. Blue eye. Weak._

And then the one who'd tried to get me to shake hands with her before -the one with short moss-green hair in a bob- flicked a strand from her blank eyes. Eyes that were currently focussed on me. "I am Kiredori."

I found myself frowning at this one. Despite her smaller stature, she appeared stronger. Maybe it was the way she held herself, or maybe it was the look in her eye, I couldn't tell.

The Moyashi glanced around, a small frown on his face. "Where's Jan?

I felt my eyebrows rise, having not expected more.

The blonde woman -perhaps a little reluctant reluctantly- glanced over at the Moyashi. "I instructed him to remain inside."

Allen nodded, seeming relieved to hear that. "Good call." Suddenly it was like he'd switched modes, eyes sweeping over the immediate area suspiciously. "I think we should head in."

I internally agreed with him; it wasn't a good idea to stay out in the open for too long. Though… "What about these idiots?" I muttered, nudging one of the guys on the ground with my foot.

The Moyashi stared at them for a moment, contemplating something, and then shook his head. "Just leave 'em. They won't attack us again for a while. Too busy healing to do that."

The 'if they don't die' part may have been left unsaid, but I could tell that everyone was thinking it.

While it was the decision that I, too, would have made in his shoes, truth be told, it made feel me more than a little cold. The cry-baby Allen Walker I knew would never have been able to make it; he'd been far too kind for that.

Troubled silver eyes lingered on those people for a moment longer, and I could've sworn I saw pity hinting around the darker depths of grey, but it disappeared too quickly for me to tell if it'd been a trick of the light or something else altogether.

It was only when the Moyashi's group started moving through a two-and-a-half metre gated and boarded section of the connecting shops before us that I realised this was where they lived. Actually, scratch that. Describing it as moving _over_ the two-and-a-half metre gated and boarded section would be more accurate. Even something as simple as this would be impossible for the zombies to figure out. That would require them to have at least _some_ form of intelligence. Which they didn't. At all.

I scoffed as the Moyashi -ever the gentleman- held out a hand to the weak blonde girl, of which she gladly took and used to aid in her climb over, feet finding purchase in the narrow footholds that each board inadvertently offered.

While everyone was busy watching the two of them, I silently retrieved the Moyashi's scarf from where I'd tossed it aside earlier. Clothes were important. With no one around to make them anymore, I couldn't just go around carelessly throwing them away as I wished. With that thought in mind, I stuffed the strip of fabric in my jacket pocket, and then followed after the others, who'd almost all mostly made it over already.

After that, it was a simple matter of travelling across the unused first floor, up the ruined stairs, and through a massive hole in the wall that was apparently not the only one, the others in place to expand their living area's space by joining two or more rooms and making them one.

Because I was the first to enter directly after the Moyashi, I immediately felt myself being watched. Again.

But the direction of this new stare came from up high… and then I saw the brown-haired kid with an aviator's hat and goggles half hanging from a hole in the ceiling that may have led to another level.

"That's Jan," the Moyashi sighed, setting the shoulder bag up on the table with a displeasured frown. He then directed said frown at the child above. "And what have I told you about doing that?"

The kid poked out his tongue, not the least bit bothered by Allen's annoyance. "Meh."

"Jan…"

"Fine," the boy huffed with a roll of the eyes. And then he grinned. "Catch me."

My body involuntarily tensed up as the child let go of whatever it was he'd been using to hold himself up, falling straight through the hole.

The Moyashi, on the other hand, dove forward without hesitation and caught the boy in his arms. "Jan! How many times have I told you not to do that?!"

"Stop repeating yourself," the kid groaned, trying to remove himself from the Moyashi's grip. "Anyway, it's not like you would've let me fall."

Clearly infuriated, Allen dropped the child, who yelped as he made contact with the floor. If it were me, in addition to dropping him, I would've kicked the little shit.

The others slowly all ambled in, finding their own places in sticking to the edges on the room while the Moyashi returned to the bag, unzipping it and revealing its contents.

"No way!" Lavi exclaimed, eyeing the meats and other foods with wonder. "How'd you get all that?!"

"The trade," Allen said, leaving it at that as if he expected us to understand.

"Huh?"

The Moyashi just shrugged, checking over everything to make sure it was all in perfect condition. "Every month, these guys do this massive trade and a bunch of folks go down; there's a ton of stuff there nowadays."

"Some guys- Allen, dude, we're facing the apocalypse and you…" Lavi trailed off, like he didn't know how to phrase what he planned to say without offending someone.

 _Ah, THERE'S the Moyashi I remember._

…

 _Did I just… fuck._

Two pale brown had pulled together to form a frown, the expression making him look stupid and confused. "There's nothing wrong with getting outside help. Besides, it's a _trade._ And I'm not an idiot; I check over everything before making a deal."

The Moyashi knelt down in front of a fridge, and when he opened it, I could feel cold air escaping.

 _Wait a second…_

He must have caught my frown, because the next thing I knew, he was talking again, eyes on me. "We're on the hospital grid, so as long as we don't use up too much power, we can keep the fridge going. We check up on the backup generator every now and then, though, just in case."

The little Chinese girl from earlier nodded along with his words, coming over to help the Moyashi. "We sometimes use if for cooking too."

"I do the cooking, but sometimes the others help," the blonde woman -Emilia?- said.

"Except Allen," the Moyashi's darker-skinned group mate suddenly stated with a funny look in his eye.

"Except Allen," she agreed exasperatedly.

"That's right; the food Allen cooks is like poison!" The blue-haired kid chimed in.

Allen hit the last one over the head, going from pale to bright red in an instant. "It's not that bad!"

"So it hasn't changed after all these years?" Lavi asked, wiped away a fake tear. "I can't believe it!"

Expression souring, the white-haired mid-teen kicked Lavi in the shin.

I smirked when the Usagi squealed like a big and clutched at his leg. Seeing that idiot in pain always made my day.

"Ow…" Prodding where he'd been kicked, Lavi winced. "So… uh, Al?

The Moyashi glanced down at Lavi through slitted eyes, hand halfway from the bag to the fridge. "Hm?"

"How are you alive?" Lavi scratched the back of his head, expression guilt-ridden as he looked away, injured shin forgotten. "I mean… we came to get you…but the blood…"

After those words left the rabbit's mouth, it didn't even take a full second for Allen's entire body to go rigid, but he quickly quashed the panic in his eyes and hid his uneasiness behind one of those sickly sweet fake smiles that made me want to bash his face in. That, in itself, had me suspicious.

"Was it your social worker's?" Lavi went on, having not seen what'd happened. "What was her name again? Reni Epstein…or something?"

Nodding almost to himself, the Moyashi's smile slipped, eyes becoming unfocussed. "Yeah, Reni."

The conversation died there, and rather awkwardly at that.

He seemed more than uncomfortable with the topic, though from the looks of it, I was the only one to realise that it wasn't because he was talking about his dead social worker. No one else had noticed how those words had been even faker than that smile, or the subtle clenching of fists that went undetected to all but the trained eye.

That's what really got to me the most. Out of all the people I'd chosen for this team, not one shouldn't have been able to notice this kind of thing. If only they'd hurry up and get over their excitement over how the kid wasn't actually dead and notice that something was _wrong_.

They should have been able to tell that Allen Walker was lying. They were _better_ than this. And the Moyashi was still a shitty liar.

Now that I thought about it, we had no idea what kind of person the Moyashi had become in these past two years. To be able to support this many survivors, most of whom obviously couldn't do a thing to save themselves, suggested he'd done more than simply collecting supplies.

I couldn't have the safety of my team jeopardized because I _thought_ I knew a person.

People changed over time, especially after something drastic like this.

I'd have to watch him closely from now on.

The blond guy - _Luck? Lint?-_ tapped the Moyashi's shoulder, leaning in close to whisper something in the brat's ear. Allen's entire demeanour sobered, instantly going from guarded to serious. He nodded, standing and moving back the way we'd came, leaving the rest of his work to the small Chinese girl, who didn't seem to mind at all, looking almost like she'd already anticipated it.

I pushed myself away from the wall I'd been leaning against, starting towards the Moyashi.

Seeing my movement, he stopped. "There's no need for you to come," the brat insisted, waving his hand through air like the retard believed he could waft away the notion. "I'll just be an hour or so." From the look he was giving me, I could tell he _really_ didn't want me tagging along. Not my problem. What he wanted wasn't any of my concern.

When he tried to leave and I continued to follow, he rounded on me, glaring at me with that silver gaze of his that at first was unwavering, but slowly started to show signs of uncertainty, before he quickly looked away.

Groaning, Allen zipped up his jumper, pulling the hood down low to compensate for his lack of a scarf. Which was still in my pocket. Not that he knew. "Whatever," he grumbled.

I felt myself smirk. It was almost nostalgic how easily he gave in. So many things were still the same with him, yet there were also just as many different. That was fine, though. It was expected.

IXIXI

My eyebrow twitched, hand tightly fisting the fabric of Allen Walker's hood.

Four times. _Four_ fucking times had that _brat_ attempted to lose me.

The attempts, all of which had remained as just that, attempts, ranged from ducking behind rubble, to running off when my back was turned.

When I'd confronted him about it, the bastard had laughed it off as my imagination. It was only then that I silently vowed to gut him if he did it again.

Luckily for him, he didn't.

We soon ventured into a tall building that might've been the ruins of a hotel, decked out with faded, bloodstained furniture, and dark marble floors.

Several flights of stairs and a whole lot of insult-throwing later, the two of us entered a room -through an actual _door_ this time- on one of the highest floors to find a small crowd of six lounging about, including the blond and green-haired pair that had disappeared earlier, all of them radiating the kind of strength that I'd of normally chosen to form a team with. My hand instinctively drifted to Mugen as I glowered at the room's occupants.

"Apostle," some guy with a pale green side ponytail drawled with a sly grin, looking between the Moyashi and I with undisguised interest through narrow eyes. "Who's your friend?"

 _Apostle?_

"Yu Kanda," Allen began icily, "is nothing of the sort."

The side ponytail guy rested a hand on his chin. "Oh?"

"It's the truth, Tokusa," the brat hissed.

Tokusa simpered in his place, tucking the fringe fixed to the left side -directly opposite the ponytail- further behind his ear. "And I never said otherwise."

"But your tone implied it."

Tokusa relocated his hand from chin to chest, shock so noticeably fake it wouldn't have taken an idiot long to figure it out. "Did it?"

Another blonde, this one female, sighed. "Stop it, Tokusa." And then she faced the Moyashi, standing from the futon she'd been sprawled out on. "Can I go ahead and assume this will be a continuation of our last talk?"

Allen gave the girl a wry smile. "Would you expect anything less, Tewaku?"

Her expression then mirrored his. "Never."

Pissed at having been ignored for so long, I subtly -read: roughly- shoved at the Moyashi's side. "What the fuck, Moyashi?"

He shot me a blank look, and then grimaced. "Keep it down. We're having an important discussion."

"Important discussion my ass," I muttered, arms crossing themselves.

"You wanted to come, so shut it," he spat back.

"What was that, baka Moyashi?"

He frowned. "Just as you heard, BaKanda."

"Ooh, the Apostle and his _friend_ are having a lovers quarrel!"

At first, the Moyashi's face slackened with surprise, and then it contorted in fury. "Tokusa! This is not a-"

"I understand," the green-haired man said understandingly, voice laced through with false sympathetic undertones.

The blond male - _pretty sure it's 'Link'_ \- placed a hand on Tokusa's bare shoulder. "Enough." Then to the Moyashi, he tilted his head in my direction. "Just tell him."

Hesitantly, Allen transferred his gaze back to me. It was cautious, and didn't remain on me long, but he soon gave in with another nod and a deep sigh. "Our supplies in this area have been running low for a while now," he begrudgingly explained, running a hand through his hair. "A result of there being so many groups stationed here, if you will. We're fine in the food and weaponry departments, but things like medicines and such… we're nearly out, so we've been planning a joint move for a while now..."

That had me confused. Why would the two of them move _together_? This wasn't that kind of world… so why…? "Both of you?" I clarified, not sure if I'd misheard or not. Probably not… I never did.

"Yeah. We were gonna find one big place where we could just merge the groups. The only reason we're separate right now is because we'd already set things up to live like this before we'd met a couple months in," the Moyashi went on, left wrist repetitively rubbing against his pant leg. _So he still has that nervous tic…_

It would be hard to do what they were planning; that would explain why that Tewaku chick made it sound as if this weren't their first meeting. And it shouldn't have been, considering they'd have to figure out a way to collectively pack up and relocate, not to mention having to find a place suitable for all of them to live. And if they did, it made the chances of my own group ever meeting with theirs' all the more unlikely.

Not that I cared or anything, just that everyone else would.

There was always a simpler solution I could propose, but would they agree? I didn't want to deal with the Rabbit's wining and Lenalee's complaints, so I may as well ask

"Then just come back with us." That was _not_ a question…

All of them outright stared at me, and I met every single one of their annoying gazes, stopping only on the Moyashi's wide-eyed incredulous one. It was the one that mattered.

I clicked my tongue, scowling at the looks. "What?"

He frowned, eyes currently verging on the line between grey and silver. "You just said…"

And there came that urge to roll my eyes again. "We have a whole fucking _island_ full of thirty annoyances; we can handle a dozen more, Moyashi."

"But suppl-"

"We grow everything," I countered, effectively silencing him for the time being. "We have animals for meats, solar power for electricity, gardens for fruits and vegetables, fuck, even people whose jobs it was to make all that shit in the first place. We're fine." I could see him opening his mouth to object again, but I continued before he could even begin. "Besides, I recall someone saying earlier that there's nothing wrong with getting outside help," I finished, using his words from earlier against him to draw this discussion to an end.

His protests stopped there, pale lips setting in a firm line.

And in his eyes… there was… hope.

It wasn't much, mind you, but it was definitely there. I'd never seen that before, and I'd certainly never expected to see it. Ever.

It made him look younger, more childlike, despite how reluctant he's always been to appear as such.

I wanted to sneer down at him, to tell him that he was as useless as ever and needed my help, that he couldn't do anything on his own.

But I didn't.

Why didn't I?

IXIXI

 _Tokusa calling Allen 'apostle' has nothing to do with Innocence or anything. It's just his nickname for the sprout because of something you'll find out later._

 _Actually, that whole conversation with Tokusa wasn't supposed to exist, but it kinda just wrote itself…_

 _At first I wasn't in the mood to write this, y'know? (I think it might be because I find it easier to write as Allen) But then all of a sudden BAM I just HAD to write and this happened so yeah._

 _At least it's a little bigger than average…_

 _ **Warning**_ _: It won't happen for a while yet but if you don't think Kanda is a pervert you have another thing coming._


	9. Ups And Downs

**Ups and Downs**

Allen Walker

The supplies were easy enough to pack; we'd already been planning this move for a while now, so most of what we owned was already stored away in boxes in preparation for the day we moved, which had most definitely arrived far earlier than anticipated.

Lavi yawned, only just having woken up. We'd allowed Kanda's group to spend the night. Or to be more precise, _I'd_ allowed them to stay, and my group went along with it.

Anyway, unlike the rest of them all, I'd been up for the past couple hours, hoping for an early start in which I spend packing in peace. Wherever we were headed, I didn't doubt that silence would prove to be a luxury hard to come around.

Right up there alongside privacy.

That made me uncomfortable, and more than a little nervous.

Lying and pretending to be as relatively normal as everyone else with all those people around… it was bound to be difficult, especially with those who'd once known me... I suppose I could just blame it on what I'd been through: no one made it through unscathed; we'd all lost something or been changed in some way.

It didn't take too long to pack away all my belongings into a backpack, seeing as there weren't all that many. No one had much of anything personal from their old lives these days; perhaps a picture or a trinket if they were lucky. Most never were.

The faint tapping of boots against cement brought to my attention the other presence now in the room, standing at the door-less arch that was once a doorway. The lack of greeting was a dead giveaway to my onlooker's identity.

"Good morning, Link."

He didn't respond.

"As unsociable as ever, I see." My lips twitched up at the corners as I made to stand, surveying the room for anything I'd missed. "I already know what you're going to say. And yes, I've already considered the possibility that they're not… the people I knew…" I paused for a second, waiting for anything he had to add. There was nothing. "But that's what you're here for. If you're really that against it, then I suppose it's only fair that I listen," I went on, turning on my heel to face the man who'd claimed the role of my post-apocalyptic carer, "considering how it's your job… to…" Words died on my tongue, becoming lost in the sheer nothingness that was now my mind in the seconds after I'd set eyes upon a most unexpected sight -a delayed reaction, if you will-; Yu Kanda leaning against my doorway, arms crossed, the usual frown on his face. My surprise faded to slight confusion, which soon became worry, though was then overruled by a less-than-irrational sense of anger. "Why," I began through gritted teeth, eyes narrowing, "didn't you say that _you weren't Link_?"

"Che." He shrugged, but didn't try to hide the suspicion that sharpened the look in his eyes; he wanted me to know exactly what he thought of my lies.

"I…" My heart skipped a beat when his face hardened, settling into an annoyed glare. I wasn't the one who had the right to be angry here. And anyway, Kanda was probably just waiting for me to make a mistake or carelessly say something that would give me away. I sighed. "I apologise; I was the one at fault here." It hurt to admit it, but it had needed to be said.

I shoved past him, unhappy with the situation as a whole.

But regardless of whether or not this move would be good for us -and I knew it _would_ , I couldn't be selfish. Right now, the needs of this little band of survivors far outweighed my own. What they needed was somewhere safe, with more _people_ , and good food. And that's what was on the table; I'd of had to have been a fool to turn this down.

I mean _sure_ , we had more than most groups, but the kids were growing, and Narain and I were teenage boys; what we had just wasn't enough anymore.

IXIXI

We carried what we could, having to make multiple trips to load it all into the car. I flat out refused help from Kanda's group; they'd given us enough. Well, that was only partially the reason… I didn't want to rely on him any more than necessary. I was strong, and I can take care of myself.

Link was just… a precautionary measure.

Ignoring that thought in its entirety, I turned my attention back to Lala, who currently wasn't talking to me. _At all_.

I'd left her consolation to Emilia because…uh… the younger woman been too pleased to find out that she'd have to leave her garden behind. In a roundabout way, we'd compromised that she could bring a select few plants. Out of everything, she'd mainly chosen strawberries. Of course she did. She loved those things. Lenalee had said that they'd add them to the garden they had back at their place; apparently they didn't have strawberries back home.

Meanwhile, Crow had hotwired their own jeep from the basement of the hotel they'd been using as a base for the past two years; they had a whole stash of vehicles down there.

All in all, things were going rather smoothly. In all honesty, I hadn't expected this kind of opportunity, especially from _Kanda_ of all people.

By midday, the hard part was over, and we were already pilling into each of the cars available, even though most of us didn't have a licence. Then again, most laws had become pretty much null and void the moment flesh-eating walking corpses started climbing the food chain.

Unfortunately for me, somehow, I'd ended up in the same car as the _one person_ I didn't want to see, with him in the driver's seat, Lenalee calling shotgun, and myself sandwiched between Lala and Link in the back seat.

I can tell you now that if it wasn't for the driver, I wouldn't have minded being in here one bit; sometimes, I swear the cosmos just has it out for me.

Though, for now, I was fine with it. Aside from Lala's obstinacy in not even looking at me now, everything was alright. Not awkward at all. Nope. Not one bit.

I sighed, looking past Link out the window as familiar sights flashed by, sights I probably wouldn't be seeing any time soon.

It felt weird to be leaving now, after all this time had passed. As strange as it sounds, I would miss this place.

That thought felt a tad weird, too…

Was it because this was where I'd at least been allowed a small taste of what it was like to live as a normal human being?

 _o_

 _O_

" _Wakey-wakey~!"_

 _A sudden pain in my forehead; did Road flick me again?_

" _Geez, Fourteenth! You're not supposed to keep a lady waiting!"_

 _Pale grey cheeks puffed out; I'd noticed the colour darkening by the day._

" _Hurry up!"_

 _She tackled me, her bare skin warm against my own._

" _C'mon! If we don't get there quick, the adults'll be mad at us again!"_

 _Silence. I just wanted to sleep._

" _Fourteenth!"_

 _She pulled me to her feet with strength that didn't befit her small, malnourished stature._

" _Allen, you idiot! Now we're really gonna be late!"_

 _O_

 _o_

My mind was a mess, memories of then all rather hazy. They were normally broken, tied together with emotions and impressions, sometimes little more than sound, pictures, people and blurs.

However, I could say with utmost certainty that what I remembered the most was her; Road Kamelot. My first friend. My sister. The person I'd cared for the most in this world.

She was always there in the back of my thoughts, demanding of me whatever attention I could spare.

I missed her terribly, and probably would forevermore.

I wanted her to be here with me, experiencing the outside world, just like she'd always hoped she would.

 _But we don't always get what we want, now do we?_

The thought was bitter, leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

Eventually, the discomforting crick forming in my neck and throbbing in my skull that had me realising that my head was resting on something firm -yet still reasonably soft- decided to take priority over all else, forcing my brain into overdrive while I remained as I was, carefully assessing the situation, unable to remember nodding off.

It must have been the silence. The peace.

To say I was annoyed with myself would have been an understatement; had I _really_ let down my guard twice in one day?

Blinking away the sleep, I groaned as bright light immediately blinded me. I tried to get away from it by turning my face in to whatever I'd been resting on all this time, and was then met with something stiff. Something comfortable. Something that smelled a lot like Link.

I relaxed a bit at that, nuzzling further into him, only whishing that I could siphon off some of the warmth that I knew he possessed.

And then the hairs on the back of my neck prickled, my body involuntarily shivering, senses on high alert. Heart thumping hard against my chest, my head shot up just as the car pulled to a stop..

Dark eyes met my own through the rear view mirror, glowering at me scrutinisingly.

My heartrate increased.

I tightly gripped Link's arm, choosing to hold Kanda's gaze for a while longer, inexplicably feeling a strong sense of guilt that soon settled down deep within my stomach.

It wasn't a very pleasant feeling; I hoped it would soon pass.

"Walker?"

Link's voice was curious, and he was frowning.

Pushing Kanda's suspicion to the backburner for now -because I knew there was _no way_ he'd be letting this go-, I smiled at the braided male by my side. "Sorry for using you as a pillow," I said apologetically, scratched my cheek. Technically, for me, this _was_ awkward. I wasn't supposed to be a little kid, and yet here I was acting like one.

From the look he was giving me, it was easy to see that Link was still confused; he'd have to stay that way for a little while longer.

IXIXI

I swayed, unsteady on my feet, a hand clamped over my mouth, the other tightly gripping the side of the boat, and although gloved, I knew that my knuckles were white.

After first parking outside of some giant portside warehouse, we'd then transferred everything over to a boat that was reasonable large in sizing, easily able to fit the fifteen-or-so people that it needed to, along with everything we'd brought with us. That was right about when I'd realised that Kanda hadn't been exaggerating. From where I stood, I could see a small body of land far off. Far, _far_ off. They'd meant an actual _island_. As in 'surrounded by water on all sides' and 'disconnected from the mainland' type island.

With that new knowledge in mind, I'd unconsciously wrinkled my nose and pressed closer into Link's side.

What had once seemed like a good idea now didn't look so… appealing. I'd have to be even more careful from now on.

I wasn't scared of water. Or boats. Nope. It was the rocking that was the problem here. Okay, so maybe I _did_ have a little Aquaphobia, but there was a sound reason for that. It _wasn't_ irrational.

But that didn't stop me from very nearly kissing the ground in relief when I was back on land again.

The trip, however short it may have been, had made stomach feel queasy. It didn't help that my nerves were on edge again.

Seeing Kanda smirking at me from a distance, I stuck out my tongue, flipping him the bird when I was sure that no one else was looking. He blinked, and I, realising what I'd done, blushed. Hard. And then I pointedly looked anywhere but at him, embarrassed by my own sudden display of childishness.

The ocean was an endless expanse of glittering blues and greens that shone beneath the light of the sun. Small waves lapped at golden sand dunes, wearing them down as time passed. It was pretty, in its own way. Deceptive… beautiful… treacherous…

I glared at the water accusingly, knowing full well what would happen if I got too close.

"Allen?"

Startled, I rounded on the one who'd said my name, the new voice strangely familiar. My eyes went wide as saucers, taking in the purple hair and crooked glasses, before I matched his face to a name buried deep within my memories. "Komui?"

The man ran at me excitedly, grabbing at my hands and holding them up the second he reached me, grinning widely. "The one and only!"

"I see you're looking well," I mused. That was somewhat of a lie; there was some kind of weight on his shoulders that I'd never seen before, something that made him seem older somehow…

His grin widened, and he nodded. "Of course I am! Don't think some apocalypse is gonna keep me down!" And then, perhaps in spotting something over my shoulder, he dropped my hands, eyes brightening with joy, and the subtle undertone of _relief_. "Lenalee!"

I smiled as he rushed past me, the elder making a direct beeline for his beloved sister.

"The same as ever, Komui."

IXIXI

 _I snorted when I realised that the first letters of the last chapter's title spell out 'TOE'_

 _But anyway, I'm not very pleased with this chapter for some reason. I mean, I got across everything I needed to, but I didn't like the way I wrote it… I won't point out what areas could use improvement, but it makes me wince._

 _*edit* - Sorry this is late; I was in hospital and could only use my left hand to type (and I'm not left-handed). I also had to eat with one hand… and open bottles… and those little servings of butter with peel-able flaps… and my pride wouldn't allow me to ask for help… But hey, now I'm more proficient at using my left hand!_

 _Okay, so funny story:_

 _According to my housemate, right before I was rushed to hospital, I was complaining and saying that I couldn't leave yet, and then I sat down and started combing my hair._


	10. Moving In

**Moving In**

Yu Kanda

Our trip hadn't been a failure or waste of time; far from it. The Moyashi had a lot of stuff, and he was more than willing enough to share, which was good for us, seeing as how meeting his group had set us back by two days.

They had a sufficient supply of weapons and ammo; raiding the artillery stores must've been one of the first stops on their list. Their toiletries were well-stocked, enough to last us a month, at the very least. The hotel those Crows had been staying at would've had a room full of them. Clothing, too, was fine, and was again courtesy of the hotel.

Right now though, since my jobs in this place were limited to supply runs and zombie recon -I originally had more, but those didn't turn out too well because they involved interacting with more people than I was comfortable with- , it was break time.

No work to do, no annoyances to deal with, just me and my bed. I groaned and relaxed, grateful for the rare moment of quiet. My eyes drifted around the room, past my cupboard and over the bed on the other side of the room, before finally landing on the black scarf tied around the bedpost to my left. The Moyashi still had yet to collect it, although I suspected that he didn't even remember me having it in the first place.

Speaking of the Moyashi, he was still acting guilty as fuck; how no one else picked up on it was a serious miracle. For him.

That pathological liar had been here for two days and, most of the time, wouldn't even look me directly in the eye, though that probably had something to do with how I knew he was spoon feeding everyone lies.

For some reason, he'd chosen the room with no air conditioning. The lights didn't work in there, either. It was the furthest bedroom from the others, and the only reason he'd wanted it was because he apparently hadn't wanted a roommate.

I couldn't really blame the Moyashi for that, though. I had the Baka Usagi as a roommate, which meant that I couldn't run from him, no matter how hard I tried. And he had a key, so that meant I couldn't even lock him out. On a good day, the experience was… meh. On a bad one, however… it was nothing short of Hell.

Another thing that caught my attention was that he always bathed with that two-spot -his name continued to evade me- every damn time. I mean, yeah, I understood that showers and baths had to be taken two at a time for clean water preservation -because the water recycling system could only work so fast-, but why not take someone else? Like that brown-skinned kid, for instance.

Unless the two of them were… satisfying each other…

That wouldn't actually be so surprising. A good number of the people here were getting quite intimate with one another, and it wasn't like it was prohibited. More encouraged, if anything. This apocalyptic shit had taken a huge toll on the human population, so sex and pregnancy was seen as a good thing.

So… in the shower those two were probably…

o

O

" _Girly-haired she-man!"_

 _It was just the usual start to the day._

" _Old-man-hair!"_

 _Insults._

" _It's my natural colour!"_

 _Defences._

" _Still old-man hair!"_

 _And the opposite._

" _Jerk!"_

 _So yeah, a completely normal day._

" _Brat!"_

 _He puffed out his cheeks like the child he was, quite clearly annoyed with my chosen slur. "I_ am not _a brat!"_

" _Yes, you are. Just look at you!" I waved a hand at him, gesturing to all that he was. "Everything about you practically_ screams _'snivelling brat'!"_

" _No it doesn't!" He shouted, shoving me with those weak little arms of his._

 _I glared, irritated, and swung a punch at him, to which he easily dodged and moved back, wary eyes on my clenched fist. "You can only do that 'cuz you're so short!"_

 _His face went red, but there was no bitting comment or scathing defence shot back at me like there normally would've been._

 _This kid, this puny, pale,_ idiot _of a kid, was the only person who'd really challenge me. Normally people would back off or ignore me, but not him. He'd chuck whatever I'd thrown at him right on back at me and expect the same to be done in turn. It was fun, but_ god _could he get on my nerves sometimes. So it was only fair that I got on his sometimes, too._

IXIXI

 _I_ really _needed a shower._

 _It was rare for me to expend this much energy in any one day unless it had to do with Kendo, and I had most definitely_ not _been doing Kendo._

 _The coach had made my class play football, which sucked, but since there was no way in Hell I'd ever let myself lose to those dipshits on the other team, I was now covered in sweat, which sucked even more. And I hated football._

 _The bathroom I was headed to was further away from the others, rarely used, with dim lights. It was perfect._

 _At least, it_ was _. Right up until I opened the door and the sound of water hitting tiles met my ears._

 _I groaned in frustration. Of course. Just my luck. One of the guys must've wanted to get away from it all, too._

 _But if that was the case, all I had to do was ignore him and maybe he'd do the same for me._

 _I went in, fully prepared to follow through with my plan, and then stopped at what I saw, because it definitely was_ not _one of the guys. Or he_ was _a guy, just…not…_

 _Mismatched hands were in his white hair, washing out the suds. He was thin, incredibly so, and pale, with no tan lines whatsoever, shoulders slight. His ass was rounded, rather like a woman's, and soft-looking._

 _I already knew that his appearance was far from the norm, but the scars, to me, had no effect on that. It didn't matter how many of them were marking his flesh, he still looked… good._

 _Leaning against the wall to admire the sights, I watched as the water ran down his thighs, making them glisten in the room's dim light. He hummed contently, scraping soaked hair to the side and exposing his neck._

 _He then pushed the hair back out of his face and reached for the tap, but unexpectedly saw me and froze, giving me this dear-in-the-headlights stare. He quickly snapped out of whatever daze he was in and began to blush profusely. "G-get out!"_

 _My eyes, now able to see him in full -because he was facing me this time-, raked over him, taking in his slim hips and small pink nipples. I saw the way the blush covering his cheeks reached all the way up to his ears, and was neither too light nor too dark. I noticed how he tried to cover himself with his hands, knees bumping together as he did so._

 _And that's when a soap block came flying through the air straight at me._

 _I avoided it easily, and then slammed the door shut behind me and ran. I don't know why I did, considering that this was the male's bathroom, as in_ I was allowed to be there too _, but by the time I'd slowed to a stop, I was breathing hard and there was a weird feeling in my stomach._

 _I looked down and went cold._

 _There was a noticeable, easily recognisable tent in my pants that hadn't been there before._

Oh no. No. No. NO!

 _I'd…from the_ Moyashi _… of all people!_

 _FuCK!_

O

o

That'd been a _great_ _way_ to find out I preferred men over women. Though, actually, truth be told, that memory _had_ served to be the foundation of the fantasy to which I'd jacked off to for the next half-year of high school. Nothing else had caught my interest, no matter how many hours of gay porn I'd gone through. And I'd gone through _a lot_.

 _Yes_ , watching it had made me horny, but not like fantasising about Allen Walker had.

I'd seen everything I'd needed to. Well, I _could've_ stayed longer and made the image more _detailed_ , but I didn't. I would rather have died than asked the Moyashi to stay like that for just a little while longer.

I could still remember many of the different scenarios I'd thought up, most consisting of the brat in... uh… some rather _suggestive_ positions and poses, with a greater portion of those involving… certain things… that leaned more towards me being an extreme sadist. Which was good. Kind of. Not so much for him, but me, on the other hand…

He was… well… I at least had the decency to feel sorry for the fake image of the brat I'd conjured up after everything I'd done to it.

However, that was it. A fantasy. The brat and I would never happen. I _didn't want_ it to happen. He was good looking, sure, but that was it. He and that two-spot could be doing whatever the hell they wanted with each other in their downtime.

I groaned at the feeling of heal pooling in my abdominal region.

Sometimes I really hated the Moyashi.

IXIXI

 _It would be a lie if I said that this chapter didn't make me laugh_

 _Anyway, it's late, and my housemate gave me two bags of candy, so all my motivational blockages are gone! Though I did get shot multiple times in my first ever paintball experience today…_


	11. Troubles

**Troubles**

Allen Walker

Apparently there were so many survivors living here that the ones in charge -Komui Lee, Froi Teidoll, a woman named _Klaud Nine_ , Reever Wenhamm, and so on- had created a job roster to rotate who worked what, and when they did so.

It made sense, really. They couldn't have some doing all the work while the rest lazed about doing nothing. It wasn't fair that way. In this do-or-die world, if you didn't work, you didn't deserve to eat. That's just how things were now.

My group, along with the Link's, had gone over the list with Komui earlier, and had officially been integrated in.

There'd been paperwork. Like, legit _paperwork_.

I thought we'd escaped all of that stuff years ago, but here we were in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and we _still_ had to deal with it. Most of it had to do with things like name, sex, age, health problems/physical status (allergies, disabilities, wounds and so on) and job preferences.

That, too, made sense when I thought about it.

They'd need to keep the boys and the girls in separate designated bathing and sleeping areas for obvious reasons to do with privacy. People of certain ages wouldn't be able to perform some of the more menial task, be they too young or old. And the list went on.

I'd signed up for supply runs and patrols, which, unsurprisingly enough, not many volunteered for.

Lala was on gardening, Emilia on cooking and inventory, Narain on doctorial duties and helping out in the main office -which was what the area Komui worked in had been dubbed-, and the kids were doing odd jobs, mainly ones to do with cleaning.

There were other things to do, like mechanics, which usually consisted of performing weekly check-ups on the solar powered generators, and fixing the odd car or two. Another was to actually be in charge of supplies, and that involved sorting clothing, taking care of all weapons, and handing out foodstuffs.

The whole process was well thought out, and everything -be if from work to toiletries- was divided equally amongst the survivors.

It was only our first day here, but I could already tell that it was a good place. Timothy, Jan and Mei-Ling really seemed to like it here, so that was always a plus. It was less temporary, with more space for them to run around and stretch their legs. They deserved this.

They'd earned it.

I smiled to myself, thinking of the looks on their faces when they'd seen the small makeshift playground and surrounding hopscotch chalk drawings.

Tiredly and sluggishly I rolled myself onto my side, and was greeted with the same view as before. I couldn't see a thing; they hadn't been joking when they'd said the lights in this room didn't work.

However, I was fine with that.

As of sometime over an hour ago, I'd sprawled out on top of my new bed -which was unexpectedly comfortable, all things considering-, and was now staring over at the inky blackness that was this room's wall.

Day one had practically ended. It was over just like that.

Everyone should have been asleep by now -excluding those on patrol-, but I just… I was cold, though, that didn't really matter anymore. I'd already given up on warmth a long time ago.

Slowly I closed my eyes, reluctant to do so, but still relinquishing myself to the memories that forced their way through my subconscious and operated on replay time and time again.

I was used to them now.

o

O

 _Her head nestled in closer to my freezing body. That spikey indigo hair of hers had grown out past her chin, tickling my bare chest._

 _"You're so warm, Fourteenth…"_

 _Her voice was kind and contented._

 _"How can you be cold?"_

 _Pretty orbs of amber blink up at me; they were easy to see now that our room had that little lamp in the corner._

" _Then I'll just hug you 'til you're warm again!"_

 _Thin arms wrap around my lower body._

" _See?"_

 _The heat they gave off wasn't much, but it was enough._

" _Now you say 'thank you'!"_

 _Road was a very loud girl._

 _"C'mon! '_ Thank you' _! It's ea-sy~"_

 _But I wouldn't trade her for anything._

O

o

The first thing I noticed was my teeth chattering like crazy, and the next was that my body was cold as ice. Or that's what it felt like to me, at least.

I threw off my blankets, shivering in my place. After another moment of freezing agony, I wrapped my arms tightly around myself, bringing my knees to me chest as I huddled up into a stiff ball to conserve what little heat my faulty body gave off.

My eyes, wide and wild, landed on the faint shape of the pile of clothing I'd thrown haphazardly on the floor before I'd gone to bed. I barely had time to process the thought in my mind when I scrambled for it, struggling to pull a black hoodie over my head.

It was among my favourites, the other two sharing that title consisting of a pair of dark grey sweats that I found comfortable to sleep in, and the scarf I'd lost curtesy of my fight with Kanda.

That line of thought cut of as a rather violent shudder ran through me, beginning in my upper body, mainly centred on my chest and back, and ending by reaching all the way down the soles of my feet, which tingled afterwards. It made me feel out of place in my own skin.

Another weaker tremor soon followed, raising goose bumps and making the fine white hairs on my arms and legs stand on end.

I hated this.

From experience, I knew that I should be moving around right now. I had to get my blood pumping, if only just a little.

After checking to make sure I was properly covered, I opened the door to my new room. It didn't even creak.

I unhurriedly padded down the hallway, hands stuffed in the front pocket of my hoodie, head hidden by the hood. It didn't matter where I ended up, not really, so long as I could warm myself.

The halls were pitch black, the doors further down all shut, and when I descended the stairs to the foyer, I could see through the glass entryway that there was a dim circle of yellow illuminating a small area outside. Beneath it was a familiar motionless blond, his arms crossed over his chest.

I pushed past the glass door, feeling the corners of my lips lift as Link started at my soundless approach.

"Walker?" He looked at me, his eyes like charcoal in this light. "You…"

"I'm fine," I quickly dismissed. "You couldn't sleep either?"

For me, this was a common occurrence. Him, on the other hand… Maybe he just needed to get used to the new base.

I sighed, the sound loud in the awkward silence that had settled over us. Not that it was completely silent. From where I stood, I could hear the ocean lapping against the shore.

I knew it was alright for me to be weak around Link; it wasn't like this would be the first time I'd done it. And he was the kind of person who could keep a secret. He wasn't overly caring or considerate of me or anything, but neither was he harsh.

He listened.

"I'm still cold… and… it's getting worse."

He quirked a brow, but otherwise remained quiet, knowing me well enough to wait. That was one of the things I appreciated the most about him.

He was one of those people who were easy to be with. Sort of.

A lot of people… they weren't always the best, but that was to be expected. Humans weren't a very nice species after all.

Still though, I was happy. Even now with this stupid body of mine protesting against every little thing I did, against every place I went, against… well, everything.

"How long will I have to put up with this?"

Truth be told, the outside world was a lot different than I'd remembered. It was scarier. But that didn't mean I wanted to go back. Never again did I want to see that tiny little cell or that dumb grey building or those big white-coat bastards or-

If outside was scary, then that place was worse than the stuff of nightmares. And since I was living a life like this, a nightmare, that really said a lot about where I'd been before.

This world was beautiful in its own odd way. The ocean, too, was nice. Better than my cell at least; all of it was. Even the bad things.

I liked the sky. It was always changing colours. Sometimes it would be big and blue, and others it would be this amazing shade of orange, like someone had set the horizon alight.

Of course, none of that stopped the pain.

It didn't make anything better, didn't make me normal, didn't make me _warm_.

"What's happening to me?"

IXIXI

 _Originally, I was gonna throw in a couple more chapters because I thought things were moving too quickly, but to hell with it. Let's bring on the plot!_

 _Sorry this is late. I forgot how to write for a while after being separated from my laptop for over a week. And life got in the way._

 _So I'm still on hiatus because I'm a bit busy right now, but I really wanted to update this._


	12. Eavesdropper

**Eavesdropper**

Yu Kanda

I quietly slid open the window to my room, carefully edging out onto the outer ledge of the building. It was still dark out, so I had to be discreet to ensure that no one saw or heard me.

My main concern was the brat.

I 'd heard someone move past my door only minutes earlier, and I'd opened it just in time to see the dark silhouette of Moyashi slip downstairs. I was almost certain he was wearing the exact same clothes as earlier today.

It wasn't that difficult spotting him outside; he was the splotch of white in the dark, slowly but surely making its way to a blond patch. They met and made for the light, and I instantly recognised the Moyashi's companion as that two-spot guy. The yellow light made the brat's pale complexion appear sickly.

I remained hidden, staining my ears to pick up on what it was they were saying.

"I'm… couldn't sleep…" A sigh, and then a short silence. "…cold… getting… put up with… happening to… It wants to be out there… idle like this… being punished." The Moyashi let out a mirthless laugh, and squinted up at the lamplight above. "…freak."

I frowned, moving a fraction closer to hear more. This was a good chance to get more information from him, albeit not intentional, but I'd take what I could get.

"Just because you're the way you are doesn't make you a freak," the blond disagreed sternly, no longer facing the brat. Instead, he was looking at one of the other buildings on the island.

"Yes, it does. And with what's happened..." The sprout sighed exasperatedly and ran a hand through his white hair. Both hands were ungloved, and his left was… darker than I remembered.

 _Is it the lighting, or…?_

"You didn't make yourself this way, and if you stop and think about it, many of the people here would rather be you, considering the way your body has adapted. I'll admit, it's odd, but think of all the good that's come from it. Can you honestly say that all those you've saved would still be here if you weren't like this?"

There was a brief silence, and then the Moyashi groaned.

"Don't you think it'd be for the best if you told everyone?" The blond continued, actually looking at the brat this time, who quietly shook his head frantically from side to side. "What about those three, then?" He prodded. "You _do_ seem particularly fond of them."

' _Those three'? Is he talking about Lena, the Usagi and I?_

The Moyashi crouched down, eyes on the ground. I couldn't see his expression, but I did see him pick a twig and poke at the dirt with it. "Especially not them, Link." He drew a wonky stigmata, longer vertically than it was horizontally. "I don't think I could bear to the see the looks on their faces when…"

Link seemed to think on that, before looking up at the flickering light -we really needed to get out hands on new bulbs- above. "You just said _when_."

The question may have been unspoken, but Allen made a sound of annoyance nonetheless. While grumbling beneath his breath, he drew three smaller stigmata connected horizontally on both sides to the first. "I'm not… I doubt I'll be able to hide it for too long."

"And what will you do then?"

The Moyashi dropped his stick and wrapped his arms around his legs, resting his chin on his knees. "Knowing me, the first thing I'll do is run. You know firsthand how much of a coward I am."

"I remember that. When we found out, you disappeared for over a week and I had to look after your group." The blond pressed two fingers to his right temple. "That was extremely irresponsible of you."

"That's because you _saw_. What else was I supposed to do?"

The Moyashi's companion let his hand drop to his side. "Not run, for starters."

"You didn't look for me," the brat said.

"I knew you'd come back eventually."

"I see." There was a shot silence, and then the Moyashi raised his head. "Hey… am I really… not a monster?"

"No. You're a sixteen-year-old boy who's been through more than the people here would ever be able to understand, even with this hell going on around us."

"I see," the Moyashi repeated quietly, and they both fell into a comfortable silence, neither moving from their spot.

All this had left me confused as hell. Barely anything they'd said made a lick of sense, except that the Moyashi still thought pretty lowly of himself. And that, from the way they were talking, it was unlikely that they were screwing each other. They acted more like siblings.

Unless they were into that. I didn't know their preferences…

Actually, this wasn't the time to be focussing on that. Not when there was something else of greater importance that had caught my attention.

The brat wanted out; _that_ I could do.

IXIX

"Hey, Moyashi."

The brat whipped around and stepped back, hand clutching the fabric over his chest. When he realised who I was, his panicked expression contorted into a scowl and his hand dropped.

"Komui has us keep tabs on the zombies are in the area," I said, launching straight into the conversation without waiting for him to give me one of his predictable greetings. "For his research or something." I'd never bothered listening to one of Komui's speeches, so I didn't exactly know why we did it, just that it was a good excuse to get out of the compound and stretch our legs every once in a while. "It'll be a quick job, but I've been itching to slice something for a while now."

He didn't seem to get it, but I could tell he was listening intently to my every word.

"Tch. You in?"

He visibly perked up at the offer, defensive body language receding as he let himself. "When?"

It was a struggle to keep my lips from curling up into a smirk. This was good. He'd practically already agreed. "I don't have the details yet. Someone will tell you when it's time."

"Great. I'm in."

 _Good._

"Hey…" The Moyashi said weakly, throat working nervously as he allowed uneasy gratitude to show through in his silver-grey eyes. "Th-thanks…" It sounded forced, but genuine. "For what you've done for us," he elaborated, stuffing both hands into his hoodie pockets. "I might not… act it… but I _am_ grateful."

I gave him a curt nod, having not expecting any form of thanks.

"Though you've got to stop sneaking up on me. It's becoming a bad habit."

IXIXI

It was an honest surprise to find Komui awake, and even more of a miracle to find him actually _working_ , head down, pen in hand. Though, maybe, that could be credited to Reever, who was standing beside the whimsical bastard, watching him like a hawk.

I kicked the doorframe, the loud thud indicating my arrival.

The Chinese man looked up upon my entry, relief lighting up his face. "See, Reever! I _am_ busy!" Komui looked to me excitedly, pushing himself up from his desk -much to Reever's irritation-. "What is it, Kanda? What can I do for you?"

His true intentions were so transparent that it was almost stupid.

That idiot would do anything to get out of work

"I'm taking a group out for recon."

He frowned at my words, and turned to check the board on his right, which had dates and names listed in clumped columns. "But there isn't another mission planned for the next few weeks. And you're not even in the planned team."

"Well I want out. Now."

"But it's only been a few days since you got back…" He trailed of, then smiled, as if sensing that there was no way I'd back own. He knew how stubborn I could be when I wanted to. "At least wait 'til the end of the week. We're still settling in Allen's companions."

This time, I let myself smirk. There was no reason to hide it anymore. "Fine."

These things always went quick; normal hours went from three to five, whereas extended missions ran from ten to twenty. We tended to alternate between scouting the area in car and on foot.

This would be a quick look around the town on a bay to the South, boating and driving to the destination before trekking around the ruined area to give it a more thorough inspection. It wasn't much, but it was enough to meet the Moyashi's request.

My plan was a relatively simple one: by giving the brat what he wanted, he'd relax and be that much more likely to slip up.

IXIXI

 _I've been having trouble with this story even though I already have an ending (and the next dozen chapters) planned out._


End file.
